Viral Benadryl trend resurfaces—and it's been linked to multiple adolescent hospitalizations and deaths
Industry Buzz
It may be time to consider taking it out of your medicine cabinet altogether.
—Elizabeth Cilenti, MD, MPH
A dangerous viral challenge is back: Teens are once again abusing diphenhydramine to chase a euphoric, hallucination-inducing high. Users are allegedly taking as many as 12 tablets at once—12 times the standard dosage.
The challenge officially got its start in 2020, when a “hallucination game” achieved popularity on social media.[] But the trend has persisted, and is now experiencing a resurgence. Calls to poison centers involving the drug have already more than doubled in the first 6 months of 2026 compared with all of 2025.[]
Related: Teens are injecting themselves with...crushed butterflies? Inside the viral challenge docs should know aboutBenadryl overdose risks
The easy-to-obtain allergy, hay fever, and cold treatment has been linked to several recent adolescent deaths. In Oklahoma, a 15-year-old girl tried the challenge and experienced both seizures and cardiac arrest, with reports saying that she is hospitalized with “no brain activity."[] Another teen obtained the drug in bulk and had to be medevaced to a hospital after taking 70 tablets.[]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) even issued a warning about the challenge in 2020, urging healthcare practitioners to be aware of the issues. “Encourage teens and caregivers to read and follow the Drug Facts label. In the event of an overdose, health care professionals should attempt to determine whether a patient with a suspected overdose took diphenhydramine,” the FDA said.[]
Counseling on risks
Elizabeth Cilenti, MD, MPH, an internist and pediatrician, says overdosing on Benadryl can be incredibly dangerous. “It can cause heart arrhythmias, hyperthermia, confusion and altered mental status, seizures, and even death,” she says. “Even at recommended doses, it can have side effects like sedation or paradoxical hyperactivity and confusion.”
Parents and healthcare practitioners should also know that many pediatricians are making a shift away from Benadryl and toward second-generation antihistamines like cetirizine for mild allergy symptoms. “It may be time to consider taking it out of your medicine cabinet altogether,” Dr. Cilenti notes.
Dr. Cilenti also says parents and providers must talk to teens directly about the risks inherent in even ubiquitous drugs: “As teens become more independent, it's important that they know that just because a medication is over-the-counter, it can be dangerous if taken at higher than recommended doses,” she says.
Jared Ross, DO, an emergency physician, professor, and healthcare consultant, says that warning signs include behavioral changes, dilated pupils, flushing, dry skin, dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty urinating. “Jerking movements or seizure-like activity, difficult walking, slurred speech, and unresponsiveness all indicate severe toxicity,” he says.
Dr. Ross agrees with Dr. Cilenti: “Second-generation antihistamine medications are much less sedating, have no abuse potential, and are much safer in overdose settings.”
Related: The antihistamine drug combo for PMDD and menopause: Science, speculation, and what clinicians should know