9-Year-Old Boy Left with Severe Burns on Face After Trying Dangerous Social Media Trend Becomes 4th Child to Need Treatment from Local Hospital

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Caleb Chabolla, 9, tried a viral social media trend of microwaving the NeeDoh Nice Cube, his mother says

• Gel-based toy exploded in face after turning on microwave

• He suffered second-degree burns on one side and his hands.

A 9-year-old boy was seriously injured after taking part in a trend on social media recently.

Loyola Medicine said in a news release shared with PEOPLE that on the morning of Jan. 20, Caleb Chabolla was trying to microwave Schylling’s NeeDoh Nice Cube while trying to make the gel-based toy more pliable.

Caleb’s mother, Whitney Grubb, said her son’s idea to try the trend came after a conversation with a friend who told him about the social media trend. She was in the garage warming up her car when she heard the microwave going and thought Caleb was heating up his breakfast.

“He knew something was wrong after hearing what he described as a blood-curdling scream,” the medical center said, confirming that Caleb had tried to microwave the popular sensory toy. But when he opened the microwave oven, “the object filled with gelatinous substance exploded in his face and hands.”

Grubb tried to rinse the substance out of the shower; but it didn’t work. He took her to the emergency room and she was later transferred to the Loyola Medical Burn Center. He also saw an ophthalmologist to treat his swollen eye.

Loyola Medicine said his vision was not affected and Caleb is currently recovering at home.

According to the official, Nice Cube is “a sensory squish that’s perfect for stretching, squishing, squeezing and soothing.” website. “DO NOT heat, freeze or microwave as personal injury may result,” the site warning states.

The boy had second-degree burns on one side and his hands, his mother said. CBS News. He is expected to return to school later this week.

Paula Petersen, APN, an advanced practice nurse at the burn center, said in Loyola’s news release that Caleb was “very fortunate that he did not sustain larger injuries.” He added: “These trends can be extremely dangerous for young people who are less likely to consider or fail to understand the serious consequences.”

The young boy is the fourth child to arrive at the facility due to this trend, McElligott said. “He heated it in the microwave and then he put his finger on it and it punctured his finger and his finger was burned,” McElligott said. CBS News.

he said WGN9 He says 30 percent of his patients are pediatric patients. “I think what’s burning these kids out is the everyday things in the home, and we want to make sure parents are mindful of what’s in their home,” he said, noting the aforementioned toys as well as “ramen noodles coming out of the microwave and kids spilling on them, or toddlers pulling hot coffee off the counter.”

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PEOPLE has reached out to Schylling for comment.

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