Is the TikTok Benadryl Challenge Back?

Girl takes 10 Benadryl tablets to get high.

By Lynette Brehm
February 17, 2022

Texas teens are overdosing on Benadryl once again.  

It surfaced in 2020.  Teens challenge each other on TikTok and other social media platforms to take enormous amounts of Benadryl to hallucinate or trip out.  The result can lead to severely elevated heart rate levels, seizures, coma and even death, according to the FDA.

In January and February of 2022, health care workers in the Dallas area have seen several cases of teens who have tried the challenge, overdosed and luckily lived, prompting officials and schools to suspect maybe the challenge has resurfaced.   

According to the reports, a total of seven Texas high-school students overdosed on Benadryl and two were hospitalized.

‘None of these patients were trying to harm themselves. They all said they saw videos on TikTok and were curious to try it.’, said Amber Jewison, a nurse practitioner at Cook Children’s Hospital where two kids were admitted in one week from performing the challenge.

“The dose that can cause a hallucination is very close to the dose that can cause something potentially life-threatening.”

-Scott Schaeffer, director of the Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information

Parents need to be involved with their child’s social media usage and it’s recommended to keep all medications, including over-the-counter medications locked away.

In the words of relatives of Chloe Marie Phillips, a 15-year old who died from the Benadryl Challenge, ‘Don't ever say this can't happen to you. Kids are like, “the other person was okay, so I'll be okay”. 

Let’s talk about this issue as a family.

Sources: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article258131263.html

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-warns-about-serious-problems-high-doses-allergy-medicine-diphenhydramine-benadryl