90s Jelly Sandals Are Back and Worse Than Ever

That's right, folks: jelly sandals are back and more terrible than ever. This popular 90s shoe once adorned the feet of young children across the nation, but the fashion item quickly fell out of favor throughout the noughts.

Unfortunately, this 90s fashion faux pas has made its way back into mainstream culture along with most other 90s trends, including choker necklaces and Fila dad sneakers. But while we all know these sandals aren't the most comfortable form of footwear, few people actually expected someone to suffer a serious injury at the hands of a jelly sandal.

One mother's Facebook post went viral after her young daughter suffered severe burns from wearing cheap, PVC jelly sandals for only one day.

According to Rosie's mother, Felicia Hillman, her two-year-old only wore the sandals at daycare before being rushed to her nearest urgent care facility. There, doctors witnessed the severe blisters that had grown on her toes and the pads of her feet. Luckily, almost 85% of urgent care health clinics are open for seven days a week and treat a variety of ailments, including burns, blisters, and even hearing issues. It's estimated that 36 million Americans suffer from hearing loss.

But Hillman's cries didn't fall on deaf ears. Though the post has since been deleted, the initial Facebook plea was shared more than 245,000 times.

"After countless antibiotics and creams finally we have some relief," Hillman updated. "Thank god this steroid cream is working. My poor Rosie girl has been a trooper. From blisters to horrific skin peeling and bleeding -- thank god no infections have ever come into play. Still a long way to go. We have to see a plastic surgeon to make sure she won’t need skin grafts to make up for the skin she lost."

Most young mothers should be worried about their child's growth and development at this age. After all, more than 20% of the population has bite alignment issues while others will continue to suck their thumbs into pre-school. Severe burns on the bottom of her child's feet were the last thing on the mother of two's mind, especially since her older child did not face the same issues from their jelly sandals.

But this isn't the first time that the quality of jelly shoes have been called into question. Less than two years ago, Tennessee mother Kelly Pruitt found high levels of lead in her child's blood after wearing a pair of PVC jelly sandals.

Walmart, the distributor for the jelly sandals in question, issued a statement in response to Pruitt's claim back in 2017. They noted that their sandals adhere to all the safety requirements. They also performed 200 additional tests following the lead controversy to ensure that these requirements were upheld.

Plastic manufacturing companies can be found in all 50 states, but these numerous facilities perform a variety of applications. It's up to the distributor to ensure their deal with the plastic supplier makes the product safe for human use.

In the case of young Rosie, Walmart has not yet offered a response.