Doctors Issued A Warning About This Social Media Trend

One TikTok food trend is so hot, doctors are warning about the potential dangers of trying to copy the latest trend in social media.

In videos that have racked up millions of views on the social media platform and YouTube, people are making tanghulu, a Chinese treat of fruit skewers coated in crystallized sugar. The creation of the dish’s candy-like shell, though, has sent multiple people to the hospital, doctors say.

Colleen Ryan, a surgeon at Shriners Children’s Boston, said Wednesday that she had seen two patients in two weeks who had suffered burns while participating in the trend. "Word of mouth" among colleagues in the United States and around the world indicates that many doctors are seeing an uptick in related deep-scald burns, she said in a statement released by the hospital this week. The hospital warned parents to be wary of their children’s attempts to make tanghulu’s dipping syrup, in which sugar is melted in the microwave or in a pan.

Ryan noted that melted sugar has a higher heat capacity than other liquids. "If spilled, it can create a severe scald burn, much like spilling hot soup, but it can cause a much deeper burn because of sugar’s properties," she said. "Kids or teens can quickly grab the pot or bowl and the hot fluid splashes, spills or splatters over them."

The burns are likely to occur on the face or hands, she noted.

The warning comes as a related TikTok trend is reportedly causing similar injuries. A Pennsylvania boy was hospitalized for severe burns after trying out a dish in which Jolly Rancher candies are melted in the microwave to make the coating for fruit, which are often called "candy grapes," according to news reports this week.

Ariel Aballay, director of the burn unit at West Penn Hospital, where the 9-year-old was treated, reported seeing four patients - two adults and two children - in the past three weeks who had injured themselves making TikTok recipes. "Molten candy is 350 degrees Fahrenheit," Aballay told the local CBS station. "And if you think about it, boiling water is 212, so once you get that temperature, it doesn’t take a long time to create a burn."

Doctors have said that while parents should warn children about the dangers of handling hot sugar, they should also know first-aid basics.

In the warning issued this week, Shriners Boston said burns should be treated with 20 minutes of cool water. Ice or other ice packs, such as frozen peas, should be avoided, it advised.