15-year-old severely burned in hot water viral challenge

Saturday, July 28, 2018
15-year-old severely burned in hot water viral challenge
15-year-old severely burned in hot water viral challenge

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The Hot Water Challenge left an Indianapolis teen with skin peeling off his body, WXIN-TV reports.

Kyland Clark, 15, is still wearing the scars of a dangerous internet challenge gone wrong.

Kyland says last week he and his friend were looking up the hot water challenge on YouTube.

When he fell asleep, he says his friend heated up some water and poured it on him. It was supposed to be a joke.

"When I came to my senses, the water got hot and I just got up and ripped my shirt off," Kyland said.

Kyland ran to a bathroom to try and escape the pain.

When the damage was done, Kyland suffered second-degree burns on his back, chest and face, putting him in the hospital for a week.

Doctors say they're starting to see more of these so-called internet challenges land people in the emergency room.

"It's suggesting to people that they can try it and they won't be hurt, but they will be. I can guarantee it," Dr. Ed Bartkus, the EMS director at Methodist Hospital in Indiana. "If your friends are telling you to do this, they are not good friends."

Kyland's doctors say he should heal and his pigment should be back to normal in a few months.