The Benadryl challenge is an

Internet challenge Internet challenges are a genre of videos in which users record themselves performing an action, usually daring others to repeat it. They play a role in Internet meme culture, with many challenges spreading through such memes. Examples include the ...

which emerged in 2020, and revolves around the deliberate consumption, excessive use and

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

of the

antihistamine Antihistamines are drugs which treat allergic rhinitis, common cold, influenza, and other allergies. Typically, people take antihistamines as an inexpensive, generic (not patented) drug that can be bought without a prescription and provide ...

medicine

diphenhydramine Diphenhydramine (DPH) is an antihistamine and sedative mainly used to treat allergies, insomnia, and symptoms of the common cold. It is also less commonly used for tremor in parkinsonism, and nausea. It is taken by mouth, injected into a v ...

(commonly sold in the United States under the brand name

Benadryl Benadryl is a brand of various antihistamine medications used to stop allergies, whose content varies in different countries, but which includes some combination of diphenhydramine, acrivastine, and/or cetirizine. It is sold by Johnson & Joh ...

), which acts as a

deliriant Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics and dissociatives such as LSD and ketamine, respectively, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed ...

in high doses. The challenge, which spread via the social media platform

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, instructs participants to film themselves consuming large doses of Benadryl and documenting the effect of

tripping Tripping may refer to: * Psychedelic experience * Tripping (ice hockey), a penalty infraction * Tripping (pipe) {{unreferenced, date=January 2015 Tripping pipe (or "Making a round trip" or simply "Making a trip") is the physical act of pulling th ...

or hallucinating. Numerous authorities have advised against the challenge, as deliberate overconsumption of diphenhydramine can lead to adverse effects, including confusion,

delirium Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances ...

psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

, organ damage,

hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme ...

convulsions A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a ...

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

, and death. On September 24, 2020, the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

formally released a statement advising parents and medical practitioners to be aware of the challenge's prevalence and its risks. The recreational use of diphenhydramine and addiction is well-reported in medical literature, and overdoses are treatable with correct intervention. Its psychoactive effects at high dosages, which are a symptom of

anticholinergic Anticholinergics (anticholinergic agents) are substances that block the action of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh) at synapses in the central and peripheral nervous system. These agents inhibit the parasympathetic nervous syste ...

poisoning, are also well documented. In severe cases, the overdose of diphenhydramine and other anticholinergic medicines can lead to a phenomenon referred to as an anticholinergic

toxidrome A toxidrome (a portmanteau of ''toxic'' and ''syndrome'') is a syndrome caused by a dangerous level of toxins in the body. The term was coined in 1970 by Mofenson and Greensher. It is often the consequence of a drug overdose. Common symptoms incl ...

, which can affect organ systems throughout the body, including the

nervous system In Biology, biology, the nervous system is the Complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its Behavior, actions and Sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its ...

and

cardiovascular system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

. Several participants have been hospitalized as a result of the challenge, including three teenagers admitted to the

Cook Children's Medical Center Cook Children's Medical Center is a not-for-profit pediatric hospital located in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the largest freestanding pediatric medical centers in the U.S., Cook Children's main campus is located in Tarrant County. The hospital provi ...

after consuming at least 14 diphenhydramine tablets, and 15-year-old Chloe Marie Phillips, an Oklahoma teen who died from an overdose after attempting to take part.

Notes

References

{{Challenges Internet memes introduced in 2020 Substance-related disorders 2020s fads and trends Eating behaviors of humans TikTok

See also

Notes

References