A social media trend that has recently gone viral among teens in Texas and Oklahoma is believed to be the cause of one teen’s death. The trend calls for the person to take a bunch of Benadryl pills to reach the level of hallucinating.
This is the main reason the Poison Control Center warns parents to keep a close eye on the medicine cabinet.
Cristina Holloway, Public Health Educator for the North Texas Poison Center said medication misdoses are one of the main concerns from callers.
“When it comes to medications that is always a concern of the poison center, it’s actually the number 1 call we receive,” Cristina Holloway said in an KXII interview.
The TikTok challenge daring teens to overdose to the point of hallucinating is dangerous on so many levels. She said that even following the directions to the letter can cause health issues, taking more than directed just amplifies that chance.
It was reported that three teens were seen at a Fort Worth hospital in May after taking over a dozen pills.
Holloway said what makes it dangerous is on the surface, it seems like a safe medication.
“They do have their dangers and I think sometimes that surprises people because like I said it is something a lot of us have in our homes,” said Holloway in the interview.
Holloway said the health dangers of taking too many antihistamines can do damage that will linger for the rest of the teen’s life. “When we look at symptoms of a Benadryl overdose, it can actually cause blurry vision, a ringing in the ears, rapid heart rate, it can lower your blood blood pressure. it can even lead to seizures, hallucinations, so some pretty severe and dangerous effects,” said Holloway.
KFOR in Oklahoma reported on August 28 that a 15-year-old girl was hospitalized and later died after taking a handful of Benadryl.
Holloway said it comes down to education and information.
“It is just very important to prevent what we can and also to educate our children and our teens that a lot of these challenges can be quite risky,” said Holloway.
Unfortunately, this is not the first deadly trend to rear its ugly head on TikTok and other social media platforms. Dangerous trends from the past include the Tide-pod challenge, the outlet challenge and the nutmeg challenge. All of these trends landed people, typically teens, in the hospital.
Holloway implored people to research new trends before trying them, and to use their brains.
“You see a new challenge, you’re thinking about trying it, just think twice about it,” said Holloway.
Holloway said it is crucial that parents know about the challenges, and the dangers that come from it, and to try and find safe alternatives to try at home.
For poison emergencies, call Poison Control on their 24/7 nationwide hotline at 1-800-222-1222.