According to a health advisory from America’s Poison Centers, poison center calls involving diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in the medication Benadryl, have more than doubled among U.S. teens during the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. The advisory has also noted reports of increasing intentional misuse associated with a social media trend and was released days after Connecticut officials reported three apparent diphenhydramine overdose deaths among children, with no confirmed link to the online challenge.

America’s Poison Centers recorded 10,068 poison center calls involving diphenhydramine use among teens in 2024, and this number increased to 13,284 in 2025, corresponding to a nearly 32% increase. Furthermore, in the first five months 2026, U.S. poison centers received 6,179 calls involving diphenhydramine only among teens aged between 13 to 19 years, which is more than double the number reported during the same period in 2025. “The increase in exposure appears to be driven by teens using diphenhydramine on purpose to get high rather than accidental medication errors,” America’s Poison Centers said in a released statement.

 According to America’s Poison Centers, the proportion of teen diphenhydramine exposure cases attributed to intentional abuse increased from 7.3% in 2020 to 13.2% in 2026. High doses of diphenhydramine can affect the brain and heart, potentially causing severe complications, including hallucinations, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, and loss of consciousness. Kenvue, the manufacturer of Benadryl, stated that patient safety is its top priority and warned that misuse of diphenhydramine-containing products is dangerous as part of its statement to ABC News.

“The social media trend promoting misuse of diphenhydramine-containing products is extremely dangerous and should be stopped immediately,” reads the statement released by Kenvue. “Our hearts go out to those impacted by the misuse of diphenhydramine-containing products.”