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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Kelly-Ann Mills

Girl, 10, left needing plastic surgery after '10 seconds of stupidity' in online trend

A 10-year-old schoolgirl was left needing surgery after a TikTok trend left her with painful burns.

The youngster had been at a friend's sleepover when they both decided to try out a trend they had heard about on the social media platform, TikTok.

The trend involved using a deodorant to make your hand feel ice cold.

The girl's friend went first only spraying the can for a few seconds, before the other year 5 pupil had a go.

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The second student held the can just an inch from her delicate skin and sprayed for around 10 seconds.

Her horrified mum told the Mirror: "10 seconds of stupidity has left her with two years of pain."

After trying to deal with the burn and pain themselves at home in Hertfordshire for the first 24 hours, the family ended up at hospital the next day.

The doctor referred them to a plastics team and said the wounds are likely to take 18-months to two years to heal completely, adding the girl could need plastic surgery.

The mum-of-three said: "They were just messing about with the deodorant can.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw her hands, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She's basically given herself frostbite.

"Her friend did it first, but not for as long and then she gave it a go.

"It was such a shock, because she is such a sensible little girl normally, she never gets in trouble, she's not one you need to tell off all the time.

"She just had a lapse of common sense."

The 39-year-old mum added that her daughter's summer is ruined as she can't go out in the sunshine with her burnt hands or jump into a swimming pool.

"She has been very quiet since, she has been in a lot of pain, but has gone straight back to school," she added.

In a warning to other parents she added: "Just keep reminding them not to take part in idiotic trends like this, those 10 seconds have ruined her next few years."

A TikTok spokeswoman said: "We care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of our community.

"We actively remove content that depicts dangerous challenges and prompt people who search for it to visit our Safety Centre, where they can find an in-app guide for engaging with an online challenge, developed with leading youth safety experts."

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