'They could have seizures': dangerous Tik Tok trend gaining popularity among teenagers

SAN ANTONIO — A dangerous social media trend is affecting teenagers across the nation as well as right here in San Antonio.

It involves an over the counter drug you can get at local pharmacies for less than $10.

"There's no euphoria when it comes to overdosing," Dr. Han Tony Gao, MD, Emergency Physician and Medical Toxicologist with UT Health San Antonio and University Health.

Dr. Gao says a relatively new social media trend could harm your child in a potentially fatal way.

It’s called the Benadryl challenge.

"In our pediatric emergency room, we have seen kids go through the ED, who have been doing this exact challenge," said Dr. Gao.

So, what’s the goal of this challenge? It’s to get a high by taking as much of the over-the-counter drug as possible.

It first went viral on the popular social media app Tik Tok in fall 2020. It has resulted in overdoses and even deaths.

Dr. Gao said at their pediatric hospital they’ve had fewer than 10 cases with the first coming early 2021.

"There was a period last month, I think where in the span of a week, we got almost five cases in that one week," said. Dr. Gao.

Both Baptist and Christus Children’s Hospitals have seen no patients linked to this challenge.

Baptist Children’s Hospital at North Central Baptist Hospital said in a statement “Although Baptist Children’s Hospital has not treated any children specifically for injury related to the TikTok “Benadryl Challenge,” our pediatric specialists urge parents to watch for indications that a child may have been poisoned. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing, drowsiness, irritability, seizures or unconsciousness. Seek help immediately by calling 911 if you suspect your child has been affected by a potentially dangerous substance.”

On any Benadryl package, you will find specific instructions on how many pills you are allowed to take. On the one we looked at it said for adults or anyone over 12 to take one to two pills every four to six hours.

In the box we looked at there are 24 pills. Medical professionals said they are sometimes seeing children who have four times this many pills in their system.

"We've had kids that have ingested close to, like more than 100 at a single time," said Dr. Gao.

Dr. Gao said at that point it is a race against time.

"They could have seizures, and they could be admitted to the hospital for a really long time," said Dr. Gao.

Sometimes the hospitalizations could last a week or longer.

"There's no easy way for us to get the body to eliminate it faster, we just wait it out and wait for the body to metabolize the drug to get it out of their system," Dr. Gao said.

So, what's with the popularity of this challenge if it's so dangerous?

Frank Emmett with The Ecumenical Center said there could be multiple reasons.

“It’s like a double dog dare you to put your tongue on a frozen lamppost. Something in that sort of challenge and hear this in adolescence pick up on that very quickly,” said Emmett.

He also made the point children have followed dangerous trends before.

“They’ll just keep doing it as long as they’re feeling the way they want to feel experiencing what they want to experience until they start having major side effects,“ said Emmett.

He said be aware of any behavioral changes in your child as they may be hiding something.

“Sit down and have a dinner table conversation about dangers and risk of doing things that could be harmful," Emmitt said.

If you believe your child has overdosed, please call for help immediately.

The South Texas Poison Center with the University of Texas Health- San Antonio’s number is 1-(800)-222-1222.

If anyone you know is wanting to recover from substance abuse you can contact the San Antonio Recovery Center at (866)-957-7885 or check out their website here.

If you would like to see a list of places that give treatment for substance use disorders you can find a list of them here.