A 13-year-old dies after participating in a Benadryl TikTok 'challenge'
A 13-Year-Old Dies from Benadryl Overdose After TikTok Challenge. Here's What Parents Need to Know.
What Happened
A 13-year-old died after taking an excessive amount of Benadryl as part of a social media challenge circulating on TikTok. The challenge encourages users to take large doses of the over-the-counter antihistamine to experience hallucinations.
Historical Context
This isn't the first dangerous social media trend. The "Tide Pod Challenge" in 2017-2018 led to over 200 cases of teens ingesting laundry detergent. The "Cinnamon Challenge" around 2012 caused choking and lung damage. The "Blackout Challenge" has been linked to multiple deaths since 2008. Teen risk-taking behaviors predate social media—what's new is the speed and scale of viral spread. The CDC reports that unintentional poisoning deaths among teens aged 15-19 have remained relatively stable at around 200-300 annually over the past decade, though specific data on social media-influenced incidents isn't tracked separately.
What's In Your Control
• How openly you communicate with your children about internet dangers
• Whether you have honest conversations about peer pressure and social media
• Your family's rules about social media use and supervision
• Keeping potentially dangerous medications secured, even over-the-counter ones
• Teaching your children that they can come to you without judgment when they're pressured
• Whether you stay informed about current social media trends affecting teens
• Your own modeling of healthy social media habits
Does This Require Action?
If you're a parent or guardian of teens: This requires *action*—have conversations about this specific trend and social media pressure generally. If you work with teens professionally: awareness and preparation for discussions. Everyone else: This requires *awareness* of how social media amplifies dangerous behaviors, not anxiety about "kids these days." Permission granted: You don't need to understand every social media platform to recognize that peer pressure + instant gratification + poor impulse control = predictable tragedies.
Source: CNN