Several years ago, a dangerous social media trend involving Benadryl emerged, prompting the FDA to issue a warning about the risks. The “Benadryl Challenge” trend encouraged teens to take an excessive amount of the allergy medication. Now, years later, a Wichita, Kansas, dad is warning other parents to talk to their kids about viral trends because his son recently tried the challenge out of “curiosity.” He then overdosed on diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl.
The dad found his son unconscious.
Daniel Stephenson told KAKE that his son was acting normal when he went to bed on July 26, 2025. But in the morning, Stephenson found his teenage son unconscious and covered in vomit. The dad later learned that his son had taken a whole package of Benadryl and overdosed on the drug.
According to the dad, his son found the challenge on Reddit.
When taking the Benadryl, the teen wasn’t trying to harm himself, the dad explained. His son apparently didn’t know about all of the risks associated with the “Benadryl Challenge.” According to the US Food and Drug Administration, taking too much diphenhydramine “can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death.”
Johnson & Johnson, the company that makes Benadryl, also previously warned consumers about the life-threatening risks of misusing the allergy medication.
“The challenge, which involves ingestion of excessive quantities of diphenhydramine, is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately,” the company previously shared in a statement, per CNN. “Benadryl products and other diphenhydramine products should only be used as directed by the label.”
Now, the dad is urging other parents to talk to their kids about social media usage.
The “Benadryl Challenge” is not the only scary social media trend that has posed a risk to teens. Now, Stephenson realizes “raising awareness” about these harmful trends is vital.
Luckily, his son is recovering from the overdose. “It just hit me that this could have been a whole different thing,” the dad told KAKE. “I could have been sitting there, you know, planning his funeral instead.”
