Health & Lifestyle

TikTok’s fry-tening new trend: Experts warn microwaving boiled eggs so they ‘explode’ can damage your vision and cause life-changing injuries

TikTok’s fry-tening new trend: Experts warn microwaving boiled eggs so they ‘explode’ can damage your vision and cause life-changing injuries

  • Doctors warn the hot steam and flying debris can damage your eyes and skin
  • The dangerous exploding egg TikTok challenge is gaining millions of views 

Microwaving boiled eggs could cause life-changing injuries, experts warned today on the back of TikTok’s latest trend.

Videos of people purposely slicing into the eggs so they burst into a cloud of steam have racked up millions of views.

But eye doctors claim the hot steam triggered by the ‘eggsplosion’ poses a massive hazard. 

Dr Grace Wang, an ophthalmologist at the University of Michigan, said: ‘Don’t try it, because it’s not worth it. 

‘You can get a lot of painful injuries that could alter your face, your appearance and your vision.

The TikTok posted by Abbie Sloan which has more than 300,000 views, shows a woman jumping back in shock as her boiled egg explodes on the plate

Just as the women pictured goes to cut the egg with the knife it bursts releasing steam into her face

The TikTok posted by Abbie Sloan which has more than 300,000 views, shows a woman jumping back in shock as her boiled egg explodes on the plate. Just as the women pictured goes to cut the egg with the knife it bursts releasing steam into her face

‘The hot steam and the hot egg along with the force of the explosion can really hit you in the face and cause burns, and not just to your skin. It can burn your eyes and cause injuries.’

She said the injuries can damage tissue and cause scars on the eyes, which can be painful. Scarring can also cause long-term vision issue.

Such injuries can also harm the cells that assist in repairing tissue on the front of the eye, Dr Wang said.

Thorrun Govind, ex chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: ‘Burns and eye damage are not things that are repaired easily.

‘I think it is extremely concerning that people are considering doing this. 

‘This could cause really serious harm, which ultimately you may even need surgery for.’

TikTok video posted by chrlotteoram, has 24.6M views

The video sees her press a fork into a microwaved cooked egg in a bowl of noodles only for it to explode

TikTok video posted by chrlotteoram, has 24.6M views. The video sees her press a fork into a microwaved cooked egg in a bowl of noodles only for it to explode

The TikTok posted by H.G.bros, which sees the pair hesitantly poke a boiled egg with a knife, has 7.5M views

In the video posted by H.G.bros shows the two men jump back and guard themselves from the flying pieces of yolk

The TikTok posted by H.G.bros, which sees the pair hesitantly poke a boiled egg with a knife, has 7.5M views. It shows the two men jump back and guard themselves from the flying pieces of yolk

One video by TikTok user @chrlotteoram, which has 24.6M views, sees her press a fork into a microwaved cooked egg in a bowl of noodles only for it to explode. 

Another posted by @H.G.bros sees the pair hesitantly poke a boiled egg with a knife to show the yolk burst across the kitchen. It has 7.5M views. 

TikTok user Abbie Sloan has more than 300,000 views on her video showing a woman jumping back in shock as her boiled egg explodes on the plate. 

The woman instructs people to ‘take it out of the bowl’ of water and ‘cut the egg in the middle’ before it explodes.  

But this temporary TikTok fame could explain why people are giving the dangerous challenge a go in the first place, experts said.  

‘I think a reason for doing it is partly curiosity about the sound it makes, plus it’s something you can challenge your friends to do’, Dr Wang said. 

She added: ‘These videos can get a lot of views or clicks online because the explosion is an exciting thing that happens.’

Doctors urge those who gets injured after trying the trend or accidentally microwaving an egg to seek medical attention. 

Eggs can be cooked in the microwave but never in their shells, according to British Lion eggs. Yolks should be pricked before cooking, too. 

Pockets of superheated water inside the yolk don’t boil immediately because surface tension prevents bubbles forming.

But once this is broken, they suddenly boil and release bubbles rapidly, causing what appears to be an explosion.

What are the dangers of microwaving eggs? 

Cooking shelled eggs in a microwave is dangerous because the casing holds in heat.

This means that, once you’ve removed the egg from the microwave, it will carry on cooking itself, and any disruption can cause an explosion.

Similar dangers apply when cooking sunny side up or poached eggs in the microwave.

Microwaved yolks are, on average, 22 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than microwaved water.

Pockets of superheated water in the yolk don’t boil immediately because surface tension prevents bubbles forming.

But once this is broken, the suddenly boil and release bubbles rapidly, causing what appears to be an explosion.

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