Benadryl Challenge
FacebookThirteen-year-old Jacob Stevens died after consuming up to 14 antihistamine pills during the Benadryl Challenge.
Another social media challenge that has taken the lives of teenagers is the Benadryl Challenge, popularized on TikTok starting around 2020.
At least two teenagers died after participating in the challenge, which involves a person taking up to 14 Benadryl pills to induce hallucinations.
In April 2023, 13-year-old Jacob Stevens of Ohio died after taking over a dozen Benadryl pills while his friends filmed him. He began seizing almost immediately and was admitted to the hospital as his body started to shut down. He spent almost a week on a ventilator before he died.
Benadryl soon released a statement about the dangers of overdosing on the pills and warned teens not to participate in the social media challenge.
“We understand that consumers may have heard about an online ‘challenge’ involving the misuse or abuse of diphenhydramine,” the statement said. “The challenge, which involves ingestion of excessive quantities of diphenhydramine, is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately. Abuse or misuse of this product can lead to serious side effects with potentially long-lasting or even life-threatening consequences.”
Another unnamed 15-year-old girl in Oklahoma died after participating in the challenge in 2020. The FDA released a statement warning people about the potential dangers of the challenge — including “serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death” — that same year.
“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 statement said. “We also contacted TikTok and strongly urged them to remove the videos from their platform and to be vigilant to remove additional videos that may be posted.”
TikTok eventually blocked search terms related to the Benadryl Challenge on the platform. “At TikTok, we strictly prohibit and remove content that promotes dangerous behavior with the safety of our community as a priority. We have never seen this type of content trend on our platform and have blocked searches for years to help discourage copycat behavior,” a spokesperson told Dexerto after Stevens’ death in April 2023.
