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<\/div>\nJacob Stevens died after attempting the TikTok Benadryl Challenge<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A 13-year-old boy from Ohio, US tragically died after overdosing on over-the-counter medication while attempting a viral TikTok trend, New York Post<\/a> reported. The teenager\u00a0died after ingesting 12 to 14 pills of Benadryl, an antihistamine as part of the ‘Benadryl Challenge’ on the social media platform TikTok.<\/p>\n What is the ‘Benadryl Challenge’?<\/strong><\/p>\n ‘Benadryl Challenge’, encourages\u00a0its users to take dangerous amounts\u00a0of 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\u00a0to induce\u00a0hallucinations. Participants then record the whole ordeal on TikTok to share their hallucinating experience online.\u00a0<\/p>\n The stunt became popular around 2020 when teenagers uploaded their attempts on TikTok, a report by the\u00a0New York Post<\/em>\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Notably, 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, as per CBS News.<\/a><\/p>\n The maximum allowed dose in a 24-hour period for children aged 6 to\u00a012 is\u00a0six tablets and 12 tablets for adults and children over 12. An overdose can cause symptoms like constipation, dry throat and mouth, dehydration, extreme drowsiness, nausea, tremor, blurry vision, rapid heart rate, seizures, and difficulty urinating.<\/p>\n A similar incident in 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2020, a\u00a015-year-old Oklahoma girl lost her life<\/a> after attempting the challenge. At the time, her aunt shared a social media post and wrote, ”This needs to stop taking our kids or putting them in the hospital.”\u00a0That was the first reported case of death from the social media stunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following the incident,\u00a0\u00a0manufacturer Johnson & Johnson issued a public advisory,\u00a0alerting people about the dangers of the online challenge.<\/p>\n ”We understand that consumers may have heard about an online \u201cchallenge\u201d involving the misuse or abuse of diphenhydramine. The challenge, which involves the ingestion of excessive quantities of diphenhydramine, is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately. Benadryl\u00a0<\/span>products and other diphenhydramine products should only be used as directed by the label,” a note on the page<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n