Doctors warn parents of resurfacing social media challenge involving Benadryl
Doctors are issuing a warning to parents about a medication you probably have at home.
They said three children have died recently here in Connecticut from the active ingredient in Benadryl.
And they think it has to do with an old social media trend now resurfacing.
Doctor Gary Soffer, a pediatric allergist at Yale Medicine, said it’s a dangerous trend.
“What we are seeing across the social media landscape is children are using it to get high,” said Soffer.
The “Benadryl challenge” first made waves in 2020, but now doctors fear it’s making a comeback.
“The TikTok challenge is when adolescents or, you know, social media followers take very high levels of Diphenhydramine, or Benadryl, which is commonly known to elicit some sort of psychedelic effect, and essentially get themselves high,” said Soffer.
He told us the trend encourages kids to take 10x the recommended amount.
In Connecticut alone, there have been three diphenhydramine-related deaths amongst children in the last 2 months.
“You can get a lot of things, seizures, and cardiovascular effects,” said Soffer. “Those sorts of things can cause death in patients overdosing on Benadryl.”
Dr. Soffer suggests you ditch the diphenhydramine altogether.
“We just did a study recently where we were able to almost eliminate the use of Benadryl in the children’s hospital because it’s just not a necessary medication in the arsenal,” Soffer said. “My suggestion is that parents take it out of the medicine cabinet, toss it out, and find themselves a good second-generation antihistamine.”
Instead, he said you should reach for a 2nd-generation antihistamine like Zyrtec, Allegra, or Claritin.
Unlike Benadryl, they don’t cross the blood-brain barrier, which is likely to cause sedation and poor-quality sleep.
“That’s why we did this study, because all these, all these other E.R. doctors and hospital doctors were using Benadryl, thinking that it was a more effective medication,” said Dr. Soffer. “Once we presented everybody the data, it was an easy switch. It didn’t take much convincing.”
Additionally, Dr. Soffer said chronic use of Diphenhydramine is also linked to dementia.
From breaking news and local politics to art exhibitions, live music, high school sports, small businesses, and cultural events, we celebrate the people and places that make Connecticut unique.