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18th April 2023
10:59am BST
A dad has issued a heartfelt plea to parents after his 13-year-old son died after overdosing on Benadryl as part of a viral TokTok challenge.
Jacob Stevens' body began to seize up after he swallowed a large amount of the antihistamine and sedative - mainly used to treat allergies, insomnia, and symptoms of the common cold - as his friends filmed to see what would happen.
The 'Benadryl Challenge' trend sees teens swallow up to 12-14 pills in order to induce hallucinations and then post videos of their experience on social media. The maximum allowed dose in a 24-hour period is six tablets for children 6 to under 12 years of age and 12 tablets for adults and children over 12 years of age.
Jacob, of Ohio, was rushed to the hospital as his body began to shut down and six days later, when his brain function ceased, his family made the heartbreaking decision to switch off his life-support.
It was the "worst day" of his dad, Justin's life.
Justin told ABC 6 that doctors told the family they could keep Jacob alive on the ventilator, "that he could lay there - but he will never open his eyes, he'll never breathe, smile, walk or talk."
He remembered his boy as a caring kid who could always turn his day around: "It didn't matter how bad of a day I was having, no one could make me smile, Jacob could make me smile."
Justin is now dedicated to warning parents and teens of the dangers of social media and released a hospital-bed picture of his son to help illustrate the consequences.
"I'm going to do anything I can to make sure another child doesn't go through it," Jacob's grandmother, Dianna, told ABC6.
Justin cautioned other parents to be aware of what their children are up to on social media. "Keep an eye at what they're doing on that phone. Talk to them about the situation. I want everyone to know about my son."
The family is pushing lawmakers to put age restrictions on over-the-counter drugs like Benadryl and wants TikTok to impose an age-restriction for creating accounts.
Jacob isn't the first teenager to die from the 'Benadryl Challenge'.
A 15-year-old Oklahoma girl died after overdosing on the pills in 2020.
Responding to the challenge, the Food and Drug administration issued a statement warning of the dangers of participating.
It states: "Taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medicine diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma or even death.
"We are aware of news reports of teenagers ending up in emergency rooms or dying after participating in the 'Benadryl Challenge' encouraged in videos posted on the social media application TikTok."
Benadryl manufacturer, Johnson and Johnson, has said the challenge is "extremely concerning, dangerous and should be stopped immediately."
