What is the ‘Benadryl challenge?’ TikTok trend endangers Fort Worth kids
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A TikTok trend known as the “Benadryl challenge” is sending dozens of kids to the emergency room at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, the health system said. But what is the social media fad really about?
What is the “Benadryl challenge?”
The “Benadryl challenge” is a social media trend that encourages teens and pre-teens to intentionally overdose on the allergy drug Benadryl and then fight the drowsiness the drug induces in an attempt to experience hallucinations or a high.
The trend first took off in 2020. Now, the fad is back, and it’s encouraging dozens of children to ingest dangerous amounts of Benadryl.
What’s the risk of overdosing on Benadryl?
In 2020, when the Benadryl challenge first became popular on social media, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautioned that large doses of the drug could cause “serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death.”
Dr. Stephanie Felton, associate medical director for the Cook Children’s emergency department, said overdoses can also cause high heart rate or arrhythmia and urinary retention that can cause renal or kidney dysfunction.
What’s the impact been in Fort Worth?
More than 100 children have gone to the Cook Children’s emergency room for Benadryl overdoses in the last six months, and one child has died, according to the Cook Children’s Health Care System.
What should parents do to keep their children safe?
Felton, of Cook Children’s, encouraged parents to have open, honest conversations with their children about their social media use.
“A simple conversation and continued conversations … are important so we have an open door policy with our kids so that they know that they have a safe place to come to with these questions,” she said.
Felton also said parents should keep medications, including Benadryl, stored safely in the home so that children don’t have unlimited access to them.
