Benadryl challenge and other dangerous trends — NJ’s seen it all

⚫ The latest warning follows the untimely death of an Ohio teen

⚫ U.S. officials alerted parents about the Benadryl challenge in 2020

⚫ New Jersey has a 24/7 poison helpline

Ignore challenges that involve swallowing or inhaling something — your life depends on it.

That's the warning from the head of the New Jersey Poison Center, following the news of the death of an Ohio 13-year-old who was participating in the so-called "Benadryl challenge" on the social media app TikTok.

The challenge pushes users to ingest excessive quantities of the over-the-counter antihistamine, or a version of it. These products include diphenhydramine, a sedative that can take care of allergy symptoms.

"If you take a lot of Benadryl or diphenhydramine, you can have seizures, you can have arrhythmia, your heart could stop, you could die," said Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the Rutgers-based poison center.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration originally issued a warning about this trend in 2020.

And this dangerous game is just a sample of a long-running series of unintelligent dares making their rounds on the internet. Calello said the center has seen issues, for example, related to teens attempting to consume a spoonful of ground cinnamon with no water, or ingesting Tide Pods, or cooking chicken in NyQuil.

"We do get calls, and if we don't get them from the patient themselves or their family, sometimes we'll get them from the hospital," Calello said.

Specialists at the poison center can be reached confidentially and for free 24/7 at 1-800-222-1222. But your first call should be to 911 if someone is not breathing, hard to wake up, or having a seizure.

While kids may get a lot of information online, they can also get vital advice from their parents, Calello added.

"I think it's never too late to talk to your kids about what they see online," she said. "Even if they're only half listening, at least they're listening a little."

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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