Overview

• Researchers presented new findings at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting in Denver, noting the trend persists across social platforms.
• The team reviewed FDA Adverse Event Reporting System data from 2013–2024 and identified 413 diphenhydramine reports, with peaks in 2020 (73) and 2023 (62).
• Case counts rose above expected levels in multiple months, underscoring periodic resurgences long after the initial 2020 TikTok outbreak.
• The challenge promotes high doses of diphenhydramine to seek intoxication or hallucinations, risking arrhythmias, seizures, coma, and death.
• Researchers reiterated prevention steps, citing the FDA’s 2020 warning to secure medications, and noted recent severe cases and a 2023 teen death linked to the trend.