A recent CBS News article discussed a social media trend that attracted the attention of the FDA. "One social media trend relying on peer pressure is online video clips of people misusing nonprescription medications and encouraging viewers to do so too," the FDA wrote. "These video challenges, which often target youths, can harm people — and even cause death." The trend includes cooking chicken in NyQuil or similar over-the-counter cold medications. But the FDA warns that breathing in the fumes from boiling such medications can be harmful, not to mention eating the actual chicken.
The warning notes other dangerous social media trends such as consuming high doses of diphenhydramine to hallucinate, aka the “Benadryl Challenge.” The trend has led to both hospitalizations and deaths in young people. The FDA advises parents to discuss these trends and the associated risks with their kids.
