Leah Presson is 15 years old and now brain dead after an apparent Benadryl overdose, becoming the latest young victim of a viral social media challenge that health officials have been warning about for years. Her father, Richard Presson, says his family is living every parent’s nightmare.
“It hurts to see that my daughter is now laying lifeless because of some challenge that couldn’t be stopped,” he told NewsNation.
The trend, known as the “Benadryl Challenge,” encourages teens to take large doses of the over-the-counter allergy medicine in an effort to experience hallucinations. Health experts say that what some kids see as a harmless dare can quickly turn into a medical emergency, with overdoses causing seizures, dangerous heart rhythms, and even death.
Leah has been hospitalized at Integris Health Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City for days after participating in the challenge.
Benadryl trend keeps resurfacing online
Federal regulators sounded the alarm back in 2020, when the Food and Drug Administration issued an alert after reports of hospitalizations and deaths tied to the challenge. Despite that warning and years of outreach from doctors and poison control centers, the challenge keeps resurfacing. Experts say that is partly because diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, is easy to get — often sitting in household medicine cabinets — and partly because social media algorithms can keep recirculating old, dangerous trends to new audiences
Doctors warn that Benadryl poses a special risk for teens who may underestimate its power simply because it is sold without a prescription. The same accessibility that makes it a common remedy for allergies and colds can also make it a tempting option for kids chasing online clout or curiosity. Some physicians report treating a steady stream of overdoses linked to misuse, including at least one children’s hospital that saw more than 100 Benadryl overdose patients in just six months and reported one death.
TikTok blocks searches and pulls videos
Social media platforms say they are trying to keep up. TikTok, where the challenge has been widely reported, has blocked searches for terms like “Benadryl Challenge” and says it removes posts that promote self-harm or dangerous behavior. Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Benadryl, has issued repeated warnings about misuse and has worked with platforms to take down harmful videos. But pediatricians and safety advocates say that content can still reappear through reposts, coded language, new hashtags and algorithmic recommendations that put risky trends in front of a new wave of users.
The Benadryl Challenge has been linked to deaths and serious injuries in multiple states, including teens in Oklahoma and Ohio, and officials in Connecticut have reported several child deaths from diphenhydramine overdoses, though not all of those cases have been directly tied to the challenge. For families like the Pressons, those statistics are now painfully personal.
“I just want everybody to be aware of where they can educate their kids,” Presson said. “These challenges are just silly, and they need to be educated so it doesn’t happen again.”
