Teenager dies after attempting ‘Benadryl challenge’ TikTok stunt

A 13-year-old boy in Ohio was killed after overdosing on Benadryl for a viral TikTok challenge.

Jacob Stevens, of Greenfield, was declared brain dead after spending about one week on a ventilator after attempting the so-called ‘Benadryl Challenge’ – a viral stunt where users take over a dozen pills of the antihistamine in an attempt to induce hallucinations.

Jacob was at his home filming the challenge with his friends when his body began seizing, his parents told ABC 6.

The teenager was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator, but was taken off when after he doctors could no longer detect brain activity.

‘No brain scan, there was nothing there. He said we could keep him on the vent, he could lay there like that but he would never open his eyes, he will never breathe on his own,’ Jacob’s grandmother Dianna Stevens told the local station.

Jacob died on Wednesday, April 12. His parents remembered him as a ‘well-mannered, funny, loving kid,’ according to an obituary published this week.

Taking more than the recommended dosage of diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, can cause respiratory failure, irregular heartbeat, cardiac arrest, seizures, and death, according to the National Institutes of Health.

But that hasn’t stopped some young people from attempting to use the over-the-counter allergy medicine to induce hallucinations. The ‘Benadryl Challenge’ first went viral on TikTok in 2020.

The challenge made headlines after a 15-year-old in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma died after attempting the stunt.

Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical company that produces Benadryl, issued a statement after the challenge first went viral, calling it a ‘dangerous trend’ that should be ‘stopped immediately.’

‘We are working with TikTok and other social platforms to remove content that showcases this behavior,’ the company said. ‘We will look to partner across industry and with key stakeholders to address this dangerous behavior.’

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