A 13-year-old boy from Greenfield, Ohio, died last week after overdosing on the allergy medication Benadryl. This medication has been linked with a “challenge” on the social media app TikTok for years.
“Last Thursday Jacob was with his friends at his home and he took a bunch of Benadryl,” said a GoFundMe page. It said that Jacob Stevens then began having a seizure and his sister called 911. He was transported to a hospital, he died from the overdose.
Benadryl, an antihistamine, contains diphenhydramine. According to a 2020 warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, taking more than the recommended dose can lead to complications, including 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,” said the FDA.
“We understand that consumers may have heard about an online ‘challenge’ involving the misuse or abuse of diphenhydramine,” said a warning from Benadryl. “The challenge, which involves ingestion of excessive quantities of diphenhydramine, is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately.”
ABC6 reported that the challenge calls for participants to take 12 to 14 Benadryl pills to trigger a hallucination. Stevens’ family spoke with the outlet about his overdose. They said he was on a ventilator for a week after he took the medication.
“I’m going to do anything I can to make sure another child doesn’t go through it,” Jacob's grandmother, Dianna Stevens said. She was in tears, according to ABC6.
Stevens’ father, Justin said that the day the teen died was “the worst day of his life.”
His son’s friends were filming the 13-year-old for the challenge when he started seizing. He passed away on April 12 at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, per his obituary.
“It didn’t matter how bad of a day I was having no one could make me smile, Jacob could make me smile,” his father said. Stevens is survived by his parents, siblings, family and friends.
Now, his family is trying to get lawmakers to put an age restriction on buying medicine like Benadryl, said ABC6. Justin Stevens said they have reached out to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. He also said the family wants social media platforms like TikTok to have age restrictions.
Last month, TikTok announced new safety features for teens and family.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the family. At TikTok, we strictly prohibit and remove content that promotes dangerous behavior with the safety of our community as a priority,” said TikTok in a message to CNN. “We have never seen this type of content trend on our platform and have blocked searches for years to help discourage copycat behavior. Our team of 40,000 safety professionals works to remove violations of our Community Guidelines and we encourage our community to report any content or accounts they’re concerned about.”
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