3 child Benadryl deaths spark renewed fears of dangerous social media trend
FILE: Benadryl box (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Public health officials in Connecticut are sounding the alarm on the recent deaths of three children who overdosed on diphenhydramine, commonly sold as Benadryl.
The state’s Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) couldn’t confirm whether the deaths were linked to a social media challenge that encourages kids to take dangerous amounts of the drug, but doctors have been seeing an uptick in diphenhydramine abuse for years, ever since the social media trends began.
Diphenhydramine deaths
What we know:
State officials confirmed three children died from diphenhydramine overdoses.
What we don't know:
The OCA didn’t say how old the children were, when the deaths occurred, or whether they’re linked to a "Tik Tok Challenge."
What they're saying:
"What is most important is that providers and parents be aware that adolescents may misuse the medication," the OCA said. "We want parents to be aware that any medication, including prescription and non-prescription medication, is potentially dangerous to children of all ages. We strongly encourage parents to store all medications safely, to ensure they are not easily accessible to children."
RELATED: Teen dies after taking part in viral 'One Chip' social media challenge: 'We lost a rising star'
What you can do:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration urges everyone to store diphenhydramine and all other medicines high up and out of children’s reach and sight. The storage should also be locked to prevent misuse.
The ‘Benadryl Challenge’
Dig deeper:
Doctors and agencies have been warning people about the so-called "Benadryl Challenge" since 2020, according to Noelia Swymeler, a pediatric resident physician at the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa School of Community Medicine.
Swymeler said the 2020 TikTok trend encouraged social media viewers to take high doses of over-the-counter allergy medicine containing diphenhydramine. The "challenge" was to fight the medication’s sedating effects to "experience a high and hallucinations."
Federal officials worked with TikTok years ago to remove the dangerous content, but "the fact that we continue to see spikes in harmful diphenhydramine use years after the challenge first went viral shows just how powerful and dangerous social media trends can be," Swymeler said in 2025.
What is diphenhydramine?
The backstory:
Diphenhydramine is a first-generation antihistamine that’s used to temporarily treat symptoms due to hay fever, upper respiratory allergies or a runny nose and sneezing, the FDA says.
It works by blocking histamines, which can cause allergic symptoms.
RELATED: Mexico issues alert over social media tranquilizer ‘challenge'
"When used as recommended, it is a safe and effective medicine," the FDA states on its website.
When misused, however, it can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma or death.
The FDA says to always read the "drug facts" label included on medicines to find out if they contain diphenhydramine, and if so how much and how often you should take them.
The Source: This report includes information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate and the American Academy of Pediatrics.