The TikTok Benadryl challenge seems to be what the kids are up to these days but it’s not for you — or your kids if you have any.
The internet is a large place full of all sorts of trends and dares. As long as you have a smartphone, it probably would only take a few seconds to find the next big thing. And if you spend a lot of time on your phone, then you must know by now that the next big thing isn’t always good. The TikTok Benadryl challenge seems to be what the kids are up to these days but it’s not for you — or your kids if you have any.
So what is the TikTok Benadryl challenge and what makes it so bad? Let’s find out!
What is the TikTok Benadryl Challenge?
All trends — good or bad — start with the same motive in mind: to grab attention. The TikTok Benadryl challenge is no different.
Before we go on, let us first answer the question you’ve probably asked yourself a dozen times “What even is Benadryl?”. Benadryl is a popular antihistamine drug. It is used as a short-term remedy for a host of allergic reactions. These include hay fever, watering eyes, sneezing, and itching. In some cases, it is also used to treat insomnia. However, when taken in larger doses, Benadryl can cause drowsiness and/or hallucinations, and herein lies the problem.
Many destructive internet waves started well-meaning before taking a dark or disturbing turn. Unfortunately, the TikTok Benadryl challenge has no such luxury. It began with a bunch of kids on the internet overdosing on Benadryl to see how much they would need to take to get high. And that’s all it has ever been. Since it started, the TikTok Benadryl challenge has proven to be completely unsafe time and again. Quite several people have fallen victim to the harms of this internet dare with effects ranging from indefinite physiological damage to death.
This video discusses the evils of this harmful trend using some fatal instances as case studies:
What We’ve Learnt from this TikTok Trend
By now, we all know that the TikTok Benadryl challenge is bad news, but what have we learned from it?
First of all, we know that you don’t have to — probably shouldn’t in some cases — do everything that you see other people doing. Another thing that we now know is that too much of anything is just bad for you. Benadryl should only be taken in clinically recommended doses and only when your symptoms are apparent. If you’re still in doubt, watch the video below to find out what the irresponsible consumption of Benadryl can do to your brain:
It takes a lot to overdose on an antihistamine, much less Benadryl lethally but we’ll try not to be too harsh. We’ll let this video from yet another popular TikTok trend do the talking instead.
