A social media trend that encourages young people to ingest dangerous amounts of Benadryl tablets has impacted some students in the Shuswap and North Okanagan, and the school district is warning parents to prevent their kids from taking up the so-called ‘Benadryl Challenge.’
K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw School District 83 issued a letter to parents Wednesday, May 27, saying some students in the district have already been impacted.
“The ‘Benadryl Challenge’ is an extremely dangerous and potentially lethal internet trend that encourages adolescents to ingest massive, toxic doses of the over-the-counter allergy medication diphenhydramine,” the school district’s letter reads. “The goal of the trend is to trigger hallucinations or euphoric high.”
The school district says public health officials and police have issued urgent warnings regarding the challenge.
“It has resulted in numerous hospitalizations and multiple confirmed deaths among teenagers,” SD 83 said.
Those doing the challenge typically ingest 12 or more tablets at once, which vastly exceeds safe medical limits and risks causing anticholinergic poisoning, which in turn severely impacts cardiovascular and nervous systems.
Some medical complications can include seizures and comas, dangerous heart rhythms and sudden cardiac arrest, severe psychological distress, organ failure and respiratory failure.
Parents who suspect their child, teenager or anyone else has consumed unsafe amounts of Benadryl are urged to take the following steps immediately:
• Call emergency services if the person has collapsed, is having a seizure, is struggling to breathe or cannot wake up
• Use the Poison Help Online Tool for immediate guidance if the person is conscious and stable
• Count the remaining medication to help emergency medical responders quickly evaluate how many pills were ingested
Because diphenhydramine is widely available over the counter, the school district said young people often falsely assume it is harmless. The following preventative measures are recommended:
• Lock up medications
• Monitor household inventory by checking medicine cabinets frequently for missing tablets or for empty packages in bedroom trash bins
• Have open communication with teens about the dangers of misusing over-the-counter drugs
TikTok is aware of the challenge and working to shut down searches for it on its platform.