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When used in high doses, diphenhydramine, an ingredient in Benadryl, functions as a deliriant, a hallucinogenic class of drugs, which appear to be becoming increasingly popular among young people for nonmedical purposes. Unlike psychedelics or other hallucinogens, there’s no real potential for a good trip on a deliriant. According to the people I spoke to, every trip is bad, every trip is brutal, and that’s the point.

In 2020, the “Benadryl challenge” gained traction on TikTok, daring participants to take doses of at least 12 Benadryl pills for an intense trip. The trend, which resurfaces every few years, drew attention to the psychoactive effects of deliriants. “I saw a video about it on TikTok once, so I knew it could be used recreationally,” one user tells me.

With little to no harm reduction information readily available about high levels of consumption, problems began to rise. In May 2020, three Texas teens were treated for Benadryl overdoses in just a week, one of whom was just 14 years old and took 14 pills. The 14-year-old recovered and returned home the next day. In August 2020, a 15-year-old died from a seizure after overdosing on the drug in Oklahoma. In September 2020, the FDA issued a warning for parents to hide and lock up their Benadryl supply, warning of the potential risk of heart problems, seizures, and, less commonly, comas and even death. Despite the warning, the trend seems to have persisted. In 2020, there were 4,618 cases reported to US Poison Centers for Benadryl usage; that number climbed to 5,960 in 2023, according to a study published in Pediatrics Open Science in August. Benadryl and deliriants in general have embedded themselves as staples on the fringes of the American youth—a cheap and easy way to get fucked up. WIRED reached out to Benadryl manufacturer Kenvue for comment. A spokesperson for the company stated, “This behavior is extremely concerning and dangerous,” and encouraged consumers to “carefully read and follow the instructions on the label and contact their health care professional should they have questions.”

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The users I spoke to described a range of unpleasant symptoms including a dramatic increase in heart rate, nausea, breathlessness, dry mouth, and severe memory loss. That’s just if the trip goes “well.” But the fun doesn’t stop there. Ryan Marino, a toxicologist and assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, says, “Use of these central anticholinergics does cause amnesia (and impair memory formation) and so may certainly make people feel like they are developing dementia or having cognitive issues.” John felt his neurocognitive function decaying firsthand, having had to drop his college chemistry class when he was taking Benadryl.

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