A 13-year-old girl from Horry County, South Carolina, nearly overdosed after attempting the “Benadryl Challenge,” a social media dare in which users consume high doses of diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl) in hopes of experiencing hallucinations or a “high.” Her mother discovered the bottle of pills almost emptied under her daughter’s bed and found several tablets missing. The girl had allegedly purchased the medicine without her mother’s knowledge during a store visit for the challenge.
After ingesting the medication, she began hallucinating and her heart rate escalated sharply, at nearly 200 beats per minute. Her parents took her to the hospital on the evening of September 15, 2025 where she lost consciousness. The teen later reported that a friend had told her she could get high from taking enough Benadryl, and she had been viewing multiple social media videos promoting the challenge.
In the hospital, she was treated for overdose effects. She did not remember what happened that night, and the next morning she woke up in the emergency ward. Her mother described the incident as terrifying, emphasizing that it served as a warning to other parents to monitor their children’s social media feed and storage of such medicines. Videos promoting the challenge were reportedly not removed from Tik-Tok because they did not violate existing content policies.
A spokesperson for Horry County Police confirmed that they are aware of the incident and are working with hospital officials to assess whether the case warrants further investigation into the availability of the medication to minors.
The Benadryl Challenge emerged around 2020 and has resurfaced in various online communities. The challenge encourages participants, usually teenagers, to take large amounts of diphenhydramine with the expectation of experiencing hallucinations or altered states of mind.
However, high doses of diphenhydramine can cause severe health problems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that misuse of diphenhydramine can result in serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death.¹ Diphenhydramine is intended to treat allergies, hay fever, or cold symptoms in recommended doses, but ingesting more than prescribed levels is toxic.
A 2022 review in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment also emphasized that intentional misuse of over-the-counter medicines like diphenhydramine is a growing concern among adolescents, particularly when encouraged by online platforms.²
The Benadryl Challenge is one of several online challenges linked to health emergencies. In recent years, harmful trends include:
The Tide Pod Challenge: Teens attempted to chew or ingest laundry detergent pods, leading to poisoning cases.
The Blackout Challenge: Participants restricted oxygen to themselves, sometimes with fatal outcomes.
The Cinnamon Challenge: Involved attempting to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon, risking aspiration and lung injury.
Each of these challenges spread quickly due to peer pressure, social validation, and viral visibility.
Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to risky behavior because of how the brain develops. Research shows the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and impulse control, is still maturing in teenage years.³ This neurological factor, combined with peer influence and a desire for online recognition, makes young people more likely to take part in hazardous viral trends.
Social media platforms amplify this issue by creating environments where content that is extreme or shocking often gains more attention. Teens may perceive participation as a way to connect with peers or gain popularity, underestimating the real dangers.
A 2024 study published in Frontiers in Public Health also noted that adolescents may lack comprehensive health literacy, making them more susceptible to misinformation or unsafe practices promoted online.⁴
Public health authorities, schools, and parents are increasingly concerned about these trends.
Education: Teaching adolescents about the risks of medication misuse and harmful internet trends.
Open Communication: Encouraging dialogue between parents and children about peer pressure and social media behavior.
Monitoring: Supervising online activity to reduce exposure to harmful content.
Platform Responsibility: Social media companies are being urged to monitor and remove dangerous content more swiftly.
The FDA has specifically urged caregivers to store medicines securely, out of the reach of children and teens, and to seek medical help immediately if accidental or intentional overdoses occur.¹
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “FDA warns about serious problems with high doses of allergy medicine diphenhydramine (Benadryl).” https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-warns-about-serious-problems-high-doses-allergy-medicine-diphenhydramine-benadryl
Abraham, Olufunmilola, and Jessica Chmielinski. “Adolescents' Misuse of Over-The-Counter Medications: The Need for Pharmacist-Led Intervention.” Innovations in Pharmacy 9, no. 3 (October 2018): 1-7. PMCID: PMC6302752. https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v9i3.979.
Casey, B.J., Getz, S., & Galvan, A. “The adolescent brain.” Developmental Review 2008; 28(1): 62–77. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273229707000494?via%3Dihub
Mancone, Stefania; Stefano Corrado; Beatrice Tosti; Giuseppe Spica; and Pierluigi Diotaiuti. "Integrating Digital and Interactive Approaches in Adolescent Health Literacy: A Comprehensive Review." Frontiers in Public Health 12 (October 9, 2024): Article 1387874. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1387874.
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