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There's a new TikTok trend sending children and adults to the hospital with burns, according to a report out of Pittsburgh.
Creating "candy grapes," a Jolly Rancher-like sweet inspired by Chinese candied fruit, has become popular on the platform, but the recipes are leading to injuries.
In Pittsburgh, a nine-year-old wound up in the hospital with severe burns after attempting to create the candy based on the TikTok video.
"I've had a lot of mom guilt for even thinking this was a good idea," the child's mother, Christina Blackstone, told KDKA, a local broadcaster in Pittsburgh.
Her son, Caidan, reportedly still struggles to use his hand.
After watching a step-by-step video illustrating how to create the candy, Blackstone decided that a treat-making activity would be a fun bonding experience with her son.
On a rainy day when they pair were stuck inside, Blackstone decided to give the recipe a try.
One step in the process requires candy to be melted in a bowl. After Blackstone had removed the molten candy from the microwave, Caiden took it and began walking to a different part of the kitchen, presumably preparing to dip grapes into the melted sweets. He tripped along the way and spilled the contents of the bowl into his hand, causing an immediate burn.
He ultimately suffered a second-degree burn from the liquid sugar.
The searing candy immediately began to harden on the child's hand. In a frenzy to help her child, Blackstone went to tear the superheated candy off, but because it had dried she feared she was instead "tearing skin." She removed it regardless.
That was the right move, according to a Pittsburgh doctor who spoke to KDKA.
Dr Ariel Aballay told the broadcaster that if she hadn't removed the hardening candy, it would have caused even worse burns on her son's hand.
"The doctor at West Penn told me if I would not have gotten that off sooner, it would have resulted in a third-degree burn and it would have gone into his nerves. He wouldn't have feelings in his hands at that point," Blackstone told the broadcaster.
He also said that Caidan wasn't the only one to suffer burns from the viral trend. According to the doctor, four others — two adults and two children — also suffered a burn attempting to make the candy.
Another TikTok user, going by the name Bethany Breanne, shared a video showing the second-degree burns she received from trying to make the candy, and offered a warning.
"If you're going to make the Jolly Rancher-covered grapes, make sure you wear gloves or your hand is going to end up possibly looking like mine," she said.
Aballay said that molten candy is 350 degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than 100 degrees hotter than boiling water.
Caidan's skin and fingernails are growing back, but he still struggles to use his hand three weeks on. He has to squeeze a stress ball and touch his fingers together to slowly regain his ability to control his digits, his mother said.
Doctors at Shriners Children's Hospital in Boston are also warning parents that the trendy snack could lead to severe burns if they aren't extremely careful with the molten candy.
