Dangerous new ‘Benadryl Challenge’ on TikTok ‘puts teens in hospital’
A DANGEROUS TikTok challenge is still putting teens in hospital, according to new reports.
The life-threatening "Benadryl Challenge" encourages participants to take excessive amounts of antihistamines to experience a high that can cause hallucinations.
The sick challenge appeared on the app earlier this year and was said to cause the death of Chloe Phillips, a teenage girl from Oklahoma in the US.
previously told The Sun that it first learned of the "Benadryl challenge" in May and "quickly removed the very small amount of content that we found".
However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new warning about the dangerous challenge, suggesting it hasn't been stopped.
The : "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medicine diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death.
"We are aware of news reports of teenagers ending up in emergency rooms or dying after participating in the “Benadryl Challenge” encouraged in videos posted on the social media application TikTok.
"We are investigating these reports and conducting a review to determine if additional cases have been reported.
"We will update the public once we have completed our review or have more information to share.
"We also contacted TikTok and strongly urged them to remove the videos from their platform and to be vigilant to remove additional videos that may be posted."
Benadryl is a commonly prescribed drug to treat allergies and symptoms of the common cold.
The over-the-counter drug is generally considered safe when taken in normal doses but it could cause severe health effects when taken in excessive amounts, medical experts warn.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant that markets the Benadryl brand, previously said the health and safety of people who use their products is their top priority.
"The Benadryl TikTok trend is extremely concerning, dangerous and should be stopped immediately," the company said in a statement.
A TikTok spokesperson told us: "The safety and well-being of our users is TikTok's top priority.
"As we make clear in our , we do not allow content that encourages, promotes, or glorifies dangerous challenges that might lead to injury.
"Though we have not seen this content trend on our platform, we actively remove content that violates our guidelines and block related hashtags to further discourage participation.
"We encourage everyone to exercise caution in their behavior whether online or off."
TikTok: Brief guide to the world's most downloaded app
- TikTok lets users create and share short videos with music and camera effects
- The hit app is best known for short dance videos, lip-syncing clips, comedy sketches, and talent footage
- It is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, founded by the entrepreneur Zhang Yiming
- The $200billion conglomerate acquired the Musical.ly app in 2017 and merged it with TikTok, bringing millions of new users
- By February 2019, TikTok and Douyin had been downloaded more than a billion times
- It was the most-downloaded app on the App Store in 2018 and 2019
- Cyber experts have expressed concern over ByteDance's alleged links to the Chinese government
- The Department of Defense has urged its employees to avoid using the app over national security concerns
- TikTok says it does not and would not share user data with the Chinese government
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