By Editor,Wilko Martinez-Cachero

Copyright dailymail

A 13-year-old girl nearly died after participating in a dangerous TikTok trend that promotes downing excessive amounts of Benadryl.

The unidentified teenager from Horry County, South Carolina, was rushed to the hospital after her resting heart rate reached nearly 200 beats per minute and she suffered hallucinations.

Her mother found Benadryl pills under the girl’s pillow.

‘I asked her how many she took and she told me two, but I didn’t believe her because the bottle was open and there were pills on the bed,’ the mom, who declined to provide her name, told WMBF.

‘My husband and I counted them, and we noticed a large amount was missing.’

The mom – who called the episode a ‘terrifying wake-up call’ – then found evidence of the TikTok trend all over her daughter’s phone.

‘I saw all of the different TikToks she had been looking at. They were all kids doing Benadryl, and it just kind of blew my mind,’ she told WMBF.

‘I thought that was a safe medication. Not something a teenager would get into.’

The so-called Benadryl Challenge involves taking 12-14 pills of the over-the-counter- medicine to effectively get high and hallucinate.

Overdosing can result in heart failure, stroke, seizures or brain damage.

The trend has been linked to multiple deaths and hospitalizations since its rise during the COVID–19 pandemic.

Now, the Horry County mom is sharing her story as a cautionary tale.

She said: ‘It was really scary. It was one of the hardest things we have been through.

‘It really had an impact on her not being able to remember what happened that night and the next day waking up in the hospital. It scared her a lot.’

A 13-year-old Ohio boy died after overdosing on Benadryl while attempting the challenge in July 2023.

In August 2020, a 15–year–old Oklahoma girl’s death was connected to the challenge.

The month prior, three teenagers in Fort Worth, Texas, were hospitalized in the same week after overdosing on Benadryl, CBS News reported.

One of them was a 14-year-old who ‘took 14 Benadryl pills in the middle of the night.’

Her resting heart rate was 199, similar to the teen in South Carolina.

The girl’s mother said at the time that her daughter hallucinated and spoke in fractured sentences.

‘As a parent, you worry about drugs and you know the signs for drug use,’ she said. ‘I never thought about having to lock up my allergy medicine.

‘I just want other parents to know about this because it’s dangerous and I had no idea. And I’m angry.’

In September 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addressed the viral trend after spotting ‘teen misuse’ on social media.

‘Taking higher than recommended doses… can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death,’ the agency said, noting that it was aware of teenagers ‘ending up in emergency rooms or dying’ due to the challenge.

The Horry County mother tried reporting the videos her daughter had been looking at to TikTok, but discovered that they didn’t violate the app’s guidelines, she told WMBF.

Searching ‘Benadryl’ or ‘Benadryl challenge’ on TikTok leads to a landing page stating ‘Be informed and aware.’

‘Some substances can be dangerous when used or misused. Learn more about how drugs, alcohol and tobacco can affect your mind, body and behavior,’ reads a message on the page alongside a ‘Learn more’ button.

App users can bypass the page if they search variations of the drug’s name, like ‘bena adryll’ or ‘bena adry,’ among others.

TikTok said that it removed any content promoting dangerous behavior that could cause serious injury.

It also said that the challenge predates TikTok and is available on other social media platforms.