A recent social media video challenge encourages people to cook chicken in NyQuil (acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and doxylamine) or another similar OTC cough and cold medication, presumably to eat, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing — and it is. But it could also be very unsafe. Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body, FDA said.
It could also hurt your lungs. Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it, FDA said.
An earlier TikTok challenge urged people to take large doses of the allergy medicine diphenhydramine (sold OTC in many products, including some under the brand name Benadryl) to try to induce hallucinations, FDA said.
Prompted by news reports of teenagers needing to go to the emergency room or, in some cases, dying after participating in this challenge and taking too much medication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned the public about the danger of high doses of diphenhydramine.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Children
How can you keep your kids safe and help prevent potentially harmful trends? First, keep both OTC and prescription drugs away from children, and lock up these medications to prevent accidental overdose.
Sit down with your children and discuss the dangers of misusing drugs and how social media trends can lead to real, sometimes irreversible, damage. Remind your children that overdoses can occur with OTC drugs as well as with prescription drugs.
If you believe your child has taken too much medication and is hallucinating, can’t be awakened, has had or is having a seizure, has trouble breathing, has collapsed, or is showing other signs of drug misuse, call 911 to get immediate medical attention. Or contact poison control at 1-800-222-1222 or online.
Use OTC Drugs Safely
Social media challenge or not, it is important to use medications as intended.
For OTC drugs, you should always read the Drug Facts Label. The label tells you what the medicine is supposed to do, who should or shouldn’t take it, and how to use it. The Drug Facts Label uses simple language and an easy-to-read format to help people compare and select medicines and follow dosage instructions.
If you have a question about a medication, including an OTC drug, call your health care provider or pharmacist or the FDA. The FDA’s Division of Drug Information (DDI) is ready to answer your drug-related questions to help keep you and your family safe. DDI pharmacists are available by email, druginfo@fda.hhs.gov, and by phone, 1-855-543-DRUG (3784) and 301-796-3400.
