A 13-year-old died from overdosing on Benadryl after attempting a TikTok challenge
- An Ohio teen died after taking too much Benadryl as part of a TikTok trend.
- His family is now warning other parents about the viral TikTok challenge, a local TV station reported.
A 13-year-old in Columbus, Ohio died after taking at least a dozen Benadryl pills as part of a TikTok challenge.
Friends of Jacob Stevens filmed as he attempted the challenge — which involves taking enough pills to induce hallucinations — when he began to have seizures, a local ABC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio reported.
Stevens was hospitalized and spent six days on a ventilator before he died, ABC reported.
His father, Justin Stevens, called it the "worst day of my life."
This isn't the first time a viral challenge has turned deadly. Viral trends like the milk crate challenge and the blackout challenge have for years circulated online, mainly on TikTok, resulting in FDA warnings, death, and lawsuits.
The Stevens family is asking lawmakers to put age restrictions on medication like Benadryl, and are warning other parents of the dangers of these kinds of TikTok challenges, Justin Stevens told ABC. He also said he thinks TikTok itself should have an age restriction.
"Keep an eye on what your kids doing with that phone, talk to 'em about, you know, the situation. I want everybody to know about my son's situation," Justin Stevens said.
In a warning on their website, Benadryl said their product should only be used as directed, adding that they are working with TikTok to remove content where the product is misused. In September 2020, the Food and Drug Administration issued its own warning about the trend.
Taking too much Benadryl can "lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death," the FDA said.
In a statement, TikTok said: "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. We have never seen this type of content trend on our platform and have blocked searches for years to help discourage copycat behavior. "