Overview
- Fifteen‑year‑old Leah Presson suffered seizures after reportedly ingesting diphenhydramine, was declared brain‑dead on June 14, and her family later confirmed that she died.
- The 'Benadryl Challenge' first circulated in 2020 and has resurfaced on social platforms, encouraging teens to take large doses of over‑the‑counter diphenhydramine to try to hallucinate.
- Doctors say high doses of diphenhydramine can cause confusion, seizures, dangerous heart rhythms, coma, and death because of its toxic anticholinergic effects.
- A health advisory cited by ABC News and local outlets shows calls to poison centers for teenage Benadryl or diphenhydramine incidents more than doubled in the first five months of this year compared with last year.
- Pediatricians, poison centers, and law enforcement urge parents, schools, and clinicians to secure medicines, monitor social media, and talk with children about peer pressure and mental‑health drivers behind dangerous online challenges.