Pink pills
Pink pills

A South Carolina teenager is lucky to be alive after trying TikTok's dangerous 'Benadryl Challenge', a viral stunt that urges kids to swallow massive doses of the over-the-counter allergy drug.

The incident occurred earlier this week in Horry County and left the teen hallucinating with a racing heart before being rushed to hospital in critical condition. The scare has reignited warnings from parents, doctors and regulators about the deadly risks of social media dares.

What Is the Benadryl Challenge?

The 'Benadryl Challenge' is a reckless trend spreading on TikTok and other platforms where users down alarming amounts of diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, to trigger hallucinations.

Although diphenhydramine is safe when taken in correct doses to treat allergies or as a sleep aid, large quantities can act as a toxic hallucinogen.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, overdosing can lead to confusion, seizures, psychosis, coma or death.

The challenge first came to public attention in 2020 after several hospitalisations and deaths were reported in the United States. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warnings at the time, urging young people to avoid the trend and calling on TikTok to remove content that promoted it.

The South Carolina case

In the latest case, the mother of the South Carolina teenager discovered her daughter in distress with a heart rate near 200 beats per minute. The girl was hallucinating and later required urgent medical care.

According to reports, pill bottles and missing tablets were found hidden under her pillow. At first the teen claimed to have taken only two pills, but a larger number was missing.

Doctors at the hospital questioned whether the ingestion had been a suicide attempt. The girl denied this, saying she had been told by a friend that taking enough Benadryl could cause a 'high'.

The mother also reported finding TikTok videos about the challenge on her daughter's phone. She said she attempted to report the videos to the platform but was informed they did not breach community guidelines.

Previous Fatalities Linked to the Trend

The dangers of the Benadryl Challenge have been highlighted in several previous cases. In 2020, a 15-year-old girl in Oklahoma died after taking an overdose of diphenhydramine. That same year, multiple teenagers in Texas were hospitalised following overdoses reportedly linked to the trend.

In 2023, 13-year-old Jacob Stevens from Ohio died after consuming up to 14 Benadryl tablets while friends filmed the attempt. He suffered seizures, was placed on a ventilator and never regained consciousness. His death prompted calls from his family for tighter controls on access to the drug.

Health Warnings and Platform Response

Medical professionals caution that diphenhydramine overdoses can cause serious anticholinergic toxicity, producing symptoms such as delirium, rapid heart rate, seizures, memory loss and in severe cases, organ failure.

The FDA has previously warned that even modest overdoses can be life-threatening. TikTok has said that dangerous challenges are not permitted on its platform and that it blocks related search terms.

However, families affected by these incidents continue to argue that harmful videos remain accessible and that reporting mechanisms are inadequate.

IBTimes UK carried out a keyword search on TikTok and found no visible content under the term 'Benadryl challenge'.

Instead, users are directed to a safety notice that states: 'Your Safety Matters. Some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing, or even fabricated. Learn how to recognise harmful challenges so you can protect your health and well-being.'

Originally published on IBTimes UK