Boy, 12, left needing skin graft after squishy toy 'exploded after being left on windowsill'
Warning: This article contains graphic images which some readers may find distressing
A mum said her son was left needing a skin graft after sustaining horrific burns after a squishy toy purchased from Lidl 'heated up on a windowsill and exploded'. Avyaan Narula, 12, was playing with the 'NeeDoh cube' during the heatwave on 17 July when the toy 'popped' and sent warm goo from inside spilling onto his foot.
Shocked mum Aarti Narula, 44, raced into the kitchen after she heard her son 'screaming' and desperately tried to remove the substance from his skin. She then washed the liquid from his foot under cold water, but said an hour later the skin had 'bubbled up'.
The mum-of-two took Avyaan to the walk-in centre as he began to lose sensation in that area of his limb. He was rushed to the A&E department at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, in Liverpool, where he was diagnosed with full-dermal burns.
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The schoolboy underwent a skin graft on July 20, where doctors used the skin from his thigh to replace the damaged skin on his foot. Aarti believes the squishy cube popped because it heated-up after it was left in direct sunlight on the windowsill in her son's bedroom.
Toy company Schylling Toys, who manufacture NeeDoh toys, have a warning on their website that reads 'Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury'. The supermarket in question, Lidl, said they were sorry to hear what had happened to Avyaan but said that the relevant usage and safety instructions are included on the packaging and the toy is 'fully compliant with all safety standards'.
Aarti, who is from Southport, explained: "He was in the kitchen and suddenly started screaming. I rushed [to him] and I saw the fluid [from the inside of the cube] had gone onto his foot and onto the floor.
"I think it just exploded and popped and the fluid went onto his foot. I originally thought that he was just a bit panicky because of the fluid - I didn't think that it was a burn. In a panic, I washed his foot because there was no way that the fluid would come off - it just got stuck like a blob, it was very thick.
"I put it under the cold water and washed it off and I threw the cube in the bin. The paste wouldn't come off the floor - I had to scrape it off the floor with a knife and use the floor wipes to clean it."
After initially hoping her son was not significantly harmed, Aarti says the skin on the top of Avyaan's foot started to 'bubble up' and he lost all feeling and sensation in that area before they were told he had dermal burns.
Aarti said: "We cleaned it and he sat there and didn't complain. An hour later it started to bubble, and two or three hours later it had completely ballooned - and that's when I started to worry.
"I took him to the walk-in centre and we were more worried because he didn't have any sensation or pain in that area of his foot She said you need to go to A&E - the doctors there were concerned because he had no sensation that it looked like a full dermal burn."
Avyaan had a skin graft operation which used healthy skin from his thigh to replace the damaged skin on the top of his foot. Aarti explained: "The doctors said he would definitely need a skin graft because there was no blood supply [to the skin in that area of his foot].
"They took the skin graft from the thigh of the same leg, which is quite a big patch because they said it was quite deep."
Aarti, who works as an operational service manager for the NHS, believes the cube exploded over Avyaan because it had been left in direct sunlight on his windowsill. She said her son had been playing with the toy with no problems after first buying it a number of months before.
"The only we think is that it was left in his windowsill which gets really hot because it's a sun-facing room," she went on to explain. "It happened out of absolutely nowhere - and at the start of the school holidays as well."
NeeDoh toys have a warning on their website that reads 'Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury'. Some retail websites sell the NeeDoh toys with the warning: "Do not leave the product in the car or out in direct sunlight."
But Aarti believes that the cubes are 'dangerous' and shouldn't be sold if there's the possibility they will explode due to the temperature and has issued a warning to parents, adding: "I think it's massively dangerous because this could happen again. They're being sold everywhere.
"If it's the case that the fluid inside, or the outside of the cube, doesn't tolerate the heat and it can burst or pop then that's definitely dangerous. You can't say that they're okay and safe to use in the cold weather - how do you tell that to the children? Definitely make sure that your children don't go anywhere near this."
Lidl said that the product packaging includes clear usage and safety instructions advising that the item should not be left in direct sunlight or exposed to high temperatures, as heat can compromise the material integrity.
In a statement, a Lidl GB spokesperson said: "We are very sorry to hear of this incident and wish Avyaan a full and smooth recovery. The safety and quality of our products is always a priority, and we take any issue of this nature extremely seriously. Relevant usage and safety instructions are included on the packaging of this product and we can confirm it is fully compliant with all safety standards."
A spokesperson for Schylling, who manufacture NeeDoh, said: "The safety of our consumers, especially children, is Schylling's top priority.
"NeeDoh products are designed and tested to meet applicable toy safety standards. NeeDoh products are not intended to be microwaved, heated, frozen, or otherwise exposed to extreme temperatures. Use of a NeeDoh product in a manner inconsistent with its instructions and warnings may pose a safety risk.
"We have also reinforced safety warnings on NeeDoh product packaging and across our e-commerce listings. We encourage parents and caregivers to supervise children during play and to review all product instructions and warnings before use. Consumers with questions about the safe use of NeeDoh products, or who wish to report a concern, are encouraged to contact Schylling customer service at [email protected]."
James Holt