‘I got mild Toasted Skin Syndrome on my stomach’: Woman issues warning about space heaters, electric fireplaces. Here’s what happened to her
Snuggling up close to a fireplace or a space heater, or into an electric blanket is a common and comforting wintertime activity. While it may seem harmless, one woman is urging viewers to heed her warning.
“Do you know what happens if you repeatedly sit in front of an electric space heater…with your back to it? Or the backs of your legs to it? This includes electric fireplaces,” TikTok user Alexandra Sedlak (@itsalexandrasedlak) says in a video with 7.9 million views. After a few heartbeats of silence, she continues, “Basically, you will turn into a marshmallow. A freaking s’more, and I’m not exaggerating.”
“It’s called ‘Toasted Skin Syndrome.’ If you repeatedly expose your skin to an electric space heater or something of the sort, you will look like a toasted marshmallow,” Sedlak shares. “It sucks because that is literally my form of comfort.”
Despite warning against this, Sedlak shares in the caption, “And I keep doing it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Sedlak via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment.
What is Toasted Skin Syndrome?
Toasted Skin Syndrome happens when skin is constantly exposed to heat sources at 107 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Those heat sources include fireplaces, heating pads, hot water bottles, electric blankets, space heaters, seat heaters, and laptop batteries. The skin may form a splotchy red or brown patterned rash. One may also experience itchy or burning skin. But these symptoms will disappear within a few months if one avoids the heat source. However, there is a risk that symptoms will last for years or become permanent.
Last year, another TikToker named Sarah Maxwell issued a public service announcement regarding space heaters after developing Toasted Skin Syndrome. After four months of not using her space heater, the rash faded away. She described, "It almost looks like a laced kind of spotted blotchy pink rash. At first, I didn’t know what it was. And then as it worsened, I realized it was from the space heater, and I was actually toasting my skin.”
Viewers of Sedlak's video shared what caused them to develop Toasted Skin Syndrome.
“I got mild Toasted Skin Syndrome on my stomach because I would fall asleep on my heating pad on max heat,” one viewer shared.
“That happened to me!! All over my shins And I had no clue what it was from and that I realized it from a heater,” a second wrote.
“I accidentally gave myself toasted skin syndrome because I had a laptop that ran extremely hot and I pretty much only used it on my literal lap,” a third commented.
Others are refusing to part ways with their heat sources.
“Toasted skin syndrome would never keep me and my space heater and heating pad apart,” one user remarked.
“I can’t be without my emotional support heat source. I got toasted skin from a heating pad too,” another stated.
Is it fatal?
Although it’s normally benign, in rare circumstances Toasted Skin Syndrome can become cancerous. “There have been rare cases of [Toasted Skin Syndrome] predisposing people to squamous cell skin cancer or the rarer Merkel cell skin cancer. Infrared radiation (radiated heat) can cause DNA damage over time, and DNA-damaged cells can mutate and become cancer,” per Kaiser Permanente.
@itsalexandrasedlak and I keep doing it. #fyp #skin #wtf #iykyk #fireplace #winter #psa #safety #dermatologist #skincare #themoreyouknow #storytime #humor #toastedskinsyndrome ♬ original sound - Alexandra Sedlak
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