NB Explains | Know about 'Viral Benadryl Challenge' which took life of a US teenager
The stunt became popular around 2020 when teenagers uploaded their attempts on TikTok. Teenagers had to upload their attempts on the audio-video platform.
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A hunger for becoming famous on social media sites by doing dangerous trends has put our children's lives in danger. Recently, a 13-year-old boy, Jacob Stevens, from Ohio, US tragically died after overdosing on over-the-counter medication while attempting a viral TikTok trend called ‘Benadryl Challenge’. As per reports, Jacob Stevens ingested 12-14 pills of Benadryl while his friends shot the video. The dose taken by Jacob was nearly six times the recommended dose that led to health complications during the deadly stunt.
According to the teen’s family, the 13-year-old was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator after he consumed 12-14 pills of antihistamine to induce hallucinations. After six days of being on the ventilator, Jacob Stevens died. His funeral will be held next week.Grieving parents are warning other parents about the dangerous social media trends and children using them unsupervised.
A 13 year old boy from Ohio has died after participating in a dangerous trend on TikTok.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 18, 2023
The “Benadryl Challenge” sees teens take 12-14 tablets a day while documenting the effects for TikTok videos.
The boy, Jacob Stevens, who was filmed doing the challenge by a group of… pic.twitter.com/aLkzasXSJW
What is the 'Benadryl Challenge'?
The stunt became popular around 2020 when teenagers uploaded their attempts on TikTok. Teenagers had to upload their attempts on the audio-video platform. Those participating in the challenge have to take 12 to 14 of the antihistamines in order to induce hallucinations.
'Benadryl Challenge', encourages its users to take dangerous amounts of the over-the-counter-drug diphenhydramine, commonly found in products like Benadryl and other OTC medications. The challenge, which particularly targets teenagers, urges them to take 12-14 pills at a time to induce hallucinations. Participants then record the whole ordeal on TikTok to share their hallucinating experience online.
Why Benadryl Challenge is dangerous?
Benadryl contains diphenhydramine, an antihistamine that temporarily relieves symptoms caused by hay fever, upper respiratory allergies, or the common cold. According to the FDA, diphenhydramine is safe and effective when used as recommended, but higher doses can cause serious heart troubles, seizures, coma, or even death.
What does US Food and Drug Administration have to say about it?
In a September 2020 statement, the Food and Drug Administration said that it has investigated reports of deaths of adolescents participating in TikTok's "Benadryl challenge", in which people take Benadryl in large quantities to experience hallucinations. The agency contacted the social media platform to urge them to remove such videos and warn users against exceeding the recommended doses of over-the-counter (OTC) medications.
"We are aware of news reports of teenagers ending up in emergency rooms or dying after participating in the 'Benadryl Challenge' encouraged in videos posted on the social media application TikTok," the FDA warning said.
The unit of Johnson & Johnson is responsible for producing Benadryl has also cautioned on its website that this "dangerous trend" must be stopped immediately.