Doctor warns parents after kids get burned by ‘Jolly Rancher grapes’ social media trend

Related video: Surgeon general recommends warning labels for social media.

RICHMOND, Va. ( WRIC ) — A doctor in Richmond, Virginia is warning families about the dangers of a hot new social media trend that has sent several children to his office with severe burns.

Some local kids looking for a sweet treat have recently ended up in the hospital after following videos posted to social media showing how to make “Jolly Rancher candy grapes.”

The videos encourage viewers to melt the hard candies on the stove before coating grapes with the hot liquid and letting them cool in the freezer. Dr. Michael Feldman with the Evans-Haynes Burn Center at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health says he’s seen the process go wrong during step one and two.

“That’s where it spills and can cause some real injury,” said Feldman. “People need to be very vigilant.”

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Dr. Feldman said that, in the past six months, at least three kids have visited VCU Health with burn injuries. He said the severity of injuries depends on where the kids were burned.

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