A seven-year-old girl has been left with painful burns and severe blisters after a popular NeeDoh squishy toy allegedly burst while she was playing with it at home.
Livi Barnard, from Telford, England, was rushed to hospital after the gel-filled toy reportedly split open, leaking liquid onto her hands and causing immediate pain.
Her mother, René Barnard, said the incident happened shortly after Livi returned home from school and began playing with the £12.99 toy in the kitchen.
“She told me the liquid had come out and burned her hand,” René recalled.
“At first I couldn’t see any blisters, so I asked her to run her hand under cold water. I searched online and saw the contents were described as non-toxic, so I thought she would be okay.”
However, Livi continued experiencing intense pain whenever she removed her hand from the cold water.
“She’s a tough little girl, so when she said it was really hurting, I knew something wasn’t right,” René said.
Concerned about her daughter’s condition, René contacted the NHS helpline before taking Livi to Princess Royal Hospital on 22 June.
As the hospital did not have a specialist burns unit, doctors photographed the injuries and sought advice from Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Livi returned to hospital the following day, where doctors treated her blisters using gas and air for pain relief. She is now undergoing daily dressing changes while her injuries heal.
René said medical staff were surprised by the severity of the burns, with several healthcare workers saying they would warn their own families about the toy.
She added that she plans to store similar toys away from heat, especially during warm weather, although she fears many children are still playing with them.
“If this had happened to a toddler, it could have been far more serious,” she said.
The incident follows several similar cases involving NeeDoh squishy toys.
Earlier this year, Joseph Erskine, 8, suffered severe burns requiring skin graft surgery after a NeeDoh toy reportedly burst and spilled hot gel onto his chest and hand.
In another widely reported case, seven-year-old Scarlett Selby was placed in an induced coma after a NeeDoh cube allegedly exploded in her face, causing second and third-degree burns. The girl had reportedly followed a viral social media trend that involved freezing the toy before heating it in a microwave to make it softer.
Safety experts have since urged parents to stop children from heating squishy toys, warning that the viral trend could result in life-changing injuries.
Following Livi’s case, Bigjigs Toys, the exclusive UK distributor of NeeDoh products manufactured by US company Schylling, said it had launched an investigation.
The company said it treats all safety reports seriously but noted that counterfeit versions of the product are also circulating and that it is first working to determine whether the toy involved was a genuine NeeDoh.
