A thirteen-year-old boy identified as Jacob Stevens has reportedly lost his life after partaking in a trending TikTok challenge called "Benadryl Challenge".
Benadryl is a sedative medication mainly used to treat insomnia, allergies, and symptoms of the common cold. The "Benadryl Challenge" is a dangerous game where participants consume 12 to 14 dosages of the medication which is six times the recommended dosage to trigger hallucinations.
Thirteen-year-old Jacob Stevens has been participating in this challenge, According to his Father Jacob was at home with his friends when he overdosed last weekend, and footage taken by his so-called friends showed the Columbus resident consuming the pills, after which his body reportedly reacts to the drugs. He was subsequently rushed to the medical center and was put on a ventilator, however, despite all the intensive treatment, Jacob gave up the ghost on the sixth day. The dosage was too much for his body,” the teen’s father said, devastated.
There was nothing there, no brain scan,” the deprived father said. “The medics said we could only keep him on the vent, they said he could lay there — but he will never breathe, open his eyes, smile, talk, or walk.”
Jacob was said to be a well-mannered, funny, and loving kid who also played football for Greenfield School. According to Fox 19, The report of what the community is saying about the boy brought his father to tears.
"It makes me feel better to see the posts his friends put on Facebook about how he helped them."
"It doesn't matter how bad of a day I was having, there's no one who could make me smile, but Jacob could make me smile," Justin added, trying to keep his composure". Also read: How content creators can maximize new series features on Tik tok.
Advice To All Parent
Jacobs's grandmother, Dianna Stevens, battled through tears to tell the local TV news she said: “I’m going to do anything I can to make sure that another child does not go through it again” She advised that parents and guardians should monitor their children phone activities "Keep an eye on what your kids do with the phone,” she said. “Talk to them about the situation. I want everyone to know about my son’s situation and take precautions."
Age Restrictions On TikTok
Tragically, Jacob is not the first victim of the Benadryl Challenge. In August 2020, a 15-year-old girl also lost her life on the drug during another unfortunate attempt at the challenge.
Following the death, manufacturer Johnson & Johnson issued a public advisory regarding the challenge, warning that: “The Benadryl TikTok trend is extremely disturbing and dangerous, it should be stopped immediately.”
Justin is also imploring lawmakers to put an age restriction on over-the-counter pharmaceuticals like Benadryl — a campaign he said to be his “life goal.”He wants TikTok to impose similar safeguards, including requiring users to provide an ID before creating an account.