Heating pads can feel like a godsend, especially for those aching backs and joints. Still, one mother from Utah shocked and terrified everyone with a rather worrying visual warning of what happens when you try to sleep with a heating pad. After waking up from her comfortable slumber, the Utah mom’s friend noticed that her back either looked otherworldly or aged 40 years.
Meagan Hannon, a hairstylist from Ogden, Utah, is the woman in question. In the video, uploaded by her friend, TikTok user teezubal, you can see Hannon revealing what appear to be weird, wrinkled markings on her back after prolonged heating pad usage, supposedly while sleeping. Hannon’s friend simply had to ask, “Do you think that’s normal?” to which she reassuringly replied, “It’s fine! I promise.”
Well, clearly it’s not Hannon’s first rodeo with the heating pad, but it’s not clear whether her back skin went back to looking normal or if it’s that way forever now, like her friend said. Additionally, some viewers were quick to notice that Hannon’s fingertips and nails were blackened, like the nerves and markings on her back, leading to more worry, “If her fingernails are black that’s bad!! her body isn’t getting oxygen,” assumes a commenter.
Hannon herself reuploaded the video, and it appears she really was fine and didn’t seek out medical help or didn’t feel the need despite worrying her friend and anyone who saw her back. Some of the more wild guesses online point to “Toasted Skin Syndrome,” where prolonged low heat exposure can cause discoloration from damaged capillaries and premature wrinkling of the skin.
People Online Were Freaked Out
Of course, there was no shortage of unanimous worry for Hannon’s back. Her friend’s video has since gone viral, with 25 million views and counting on just TikTok, leading to Hannon calling herself the “Heating Pad Girl.” So far, Hannon hasn’t revealed further visual updates on the state of her skin or her back. As for people who are worried about her blackened fingertips, she revealed, “Everyone.. my nails are from coloring hair.. I’m a hairstylist.. I don’t have a disease and I’m not dying.”
Regardless, people were still alarmed for her, with some worrywarts pointing out, “Repeated exposure can lead to permanent damage, and in some cases, increase the risk of skin cancer due to the cellular changes caused by the heat.” Some have even joked about the situation, “Slow cooking yourself is something else,” with another saying, “Google says she has 30 min left..”
Hannon’s skin reaction has since become a warning for many people who also use heating pads during sleep. The good news is that Toasted Skin Syndrome can sometimes be reversed as the skin could go back to its original appearance (and integrity) after the affected person stops sleeping on heating pads for a while.
