A 12-year-old boy from Texas, United States, suffered severe second-to-third-degree burns over his body as his skin 'melted away' after attempting a viral TikTok challenge.

Last month (16 August), Caden Ballard and his older brother watched a 'cool' video on the popular social media platform and decided to imitate it.

The experiment involved lighting a bottle filled with rubbing alcohol to watch flames rise, as reported by local news outlets KXAN Austin and KRBC-TV, along with CBS 42.

However, things didn't go as planned because isopropyl alcohol burns with an almost invisible flame. Caden explained to KXAN Austin: "It seemed like the fire had gone out. So, my brother handed it to me and said, 'Here, throw it away.' I grabbed it to toss it in the trash can, [and] my shirt caught on fire."

Caden Ballard, 12, suffered 'severe burns' across 11 per cent of his body (GoFundMe)

Caden's mum, Christina, was on the other side of the property and only learned about the incident from a friend who heard her sons calling the police, according to the outlet.

"When I reached the porch, he was covered in burns on his face, chest, arms, and stomach. It looked like his skin had melted away," she recalled, adding that it was surprising since her sons usually listen to 'story times' on the app.

A fundraiser has been started for Caden's medical expenses, and as of 3 September, it has raised over $1,700 of its $25,000 goal.

A fundraiser has since been created to help pay for the pre-teen's medical bills (GoFundMe)

According to the GoFundMe page, Caden suffered 'severe burns' on 11 per cent of his body during the incident.

In a recent update (31 August), Christina revealed that after surgery, her son was transferred to Shriners Pediatric Burn Hospital in Galveston. He has been discharged and is now receiving outpatient treatment.

She shared: "They anticipate he may have some scars, but the Shriners Hospital has mentioned they will provide compression garments like gloves and shirts to reduce thick scars.

"They also want to monitor his growth, as scar tissue doesn’t stretch and grow in the same way, and because he’s young, he still has a lot of growing to do."

Christina shared that Caden may need plastic surgery in the future (GoFundMe)

Christina added that Caden might require plastic surgery in the future.

"Please continue to pray for his healing, as this is a long-term recovery process," she concluded.

Christina is now urging other parents to caution their children against copying certain online trends, stunts, and challenges, as they 'never know' if it could land them in the hospital or worse.

Christina has issued a warning to fellow parents following the frightful ordeal (GoFundMe)

Thankfully, the damage to Caden's body was significantly minimized after his older brother quickly pulled off his shirt and instructed him to stop, drop, and roll to extinguish the flames.

"I don’t know how you were brave enough to reach into the flames and pull the shirt off of your brother. But I thank God every single day that you had the courage to do that," Christina told CBS 42.

"We were very fortunate; while it's bad, Caden and I are very lucky it wasn’t much worse," she added, as per KXAN Austin.

Tyla has reached out to TikTok for comment.