According to a new report by WIRED the over-the-counter antihistamine Benadryl (active ingredient diphenhydramine) is increasingly being consumed in high, non-therapeutic doses by teenagers and young adults in the U.S., in an effort to trigger hallucinations or a “trip” akin to other controlled substances. The trend is alarming experts who say the drug’s deliriant properties can lead to cognitive damage, physical harm and even death. 

The hook is disturbing but revealing: dips into the subculture show young people taking anywhere from 12 to 25 pills in a single session, far above therapeutic dose guidelines. Many describe experiencing the so-called “Hat Man” hallucination—a faceless, top-hatted figure emerging during the trip. Unlike psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin, the experience of a Benadryl-deliriant high is universally described as terrifying rather than euphoric. 

The context of this trend is tied to several factors. First, diphenhydramine is a common antihistamine available widely without prescription, and its accessibility and low cost make it appealing to younger users. As one interviewee put it: “I can go down to my one corner store … buy 100 capsules of Benadryl for, like, three bucks.”  Second, the rise of social-media driven challenges and the “Benadryl Challenge” (which surfaced on platforms like TikTok) has amplified peer pressure and viral appeal. The challenge often involves taking massive doses for the purpose of capturing a psychedelic-style experience and sharing it online. 

According to regulators, the drug’s risk profile in these usage patterns is serious. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration warned that taking higher-than-recommended doses of diphenhydramine “can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death.”  Health-care professionals attribute effects such as extreme heart rate elevation, tactile hallucinations (such as feeling bugs crawling on the skin), severe memory loss, disorientation and cognitive decline among users. One young man described dropping a college chemistry course after sustained use. 

What is happening now is that health-systems, parents and educators are sounding alarms. Reports show increases in overdose cases: for example, poison-control calls involving Benadryl misuse rose from approximately 4,618 in 2020 to 5,960 in 2023.  At the same time, survivors and recovery accounts are becoming more visible—users who describe the high as nightmarish and the aftermath as marked by regret and cognitive scars. In one interview the user said the purpose of his usage was not to feel good but to “escape” pain by numbing emotion and inducing terrifying hallucinations. 

For parents, educators and mental-health professionals the implications are multifold. One immediate concern is that this pattern signals a new kind of substance misuse among youth—one driven by accessibility and digital culture rather than traditional illicit-drug markets. The use of a common allergy medication in this way also points to deeper issues of underlying mental-health challenges, self-harm behaviour and dissatisfaction that may motivate young people to seek extreme escapes. The broader youth-mental-health crisis in the U.S. has intersected with pandemic-era isolation, digital peer-pressure and social-media trends.

For schools, universities and health-services providers the challenge is both prevention and intervention. Awareness campaigns must incorporate the dangers of deliriants such as diphenhydramine, which do not behave like typical substances of abuse. Unlike cannabis or hallucinogens, the high does not offer euphoric release—it delivers confusion, terror and memory black-outs. Health-professionals note that the trip’s unpredictability and non-sensical visualisations make it particularly dangerous because users cannot effectively self-monitor or manage the experience. 

From a public-health and regulatory standpoint, the trend raises questions about over-the-counter medication policy, youth-access controls and social-media platform moderation. While Benadryl remains legally sold over-the-counter, the misuse loop suggests gaps in monitoring, youth-education and online-media filtering. Social-media platforms have claimed they do not see the content trending widely now, yet multiple incidents continue to emerge—such as one case of a 13-year-old girl who nearly overdosed after watching related videos. 

What many people are missing in this story is how the use of deliriants fundamentally differs from other youth-drug trends and how health systems need to adjust accordingly. The imagery and narratives of “trip” culture often host psychedelics as mystical or controlled experiences. In contrast deliriants like diphenhydramine erode control, generate delirium rather than clarity and carry higher immediate physical-risk profiles. The “fun” narrative does not fit; the user literally pays a price in cognitive function and physical stability. This distinction is crucial for effective messaging and intervention design.

For youth-targeted brands, educational tech companies and digital-wellness platforms the shift is significant. If a generation is substituting expensive or regulated substances for cheap, accessible OTC medicines in online-driven stunts, the risk matrix changes. Corporate social-responsibility programmes in tech and media may need to recalibrate awareness-campaign targeting, moderation of peer-challenge content and partnerships with public-health stakeholders. Employers and insurers should also note that young workers may carry hidden risk-profiles from OTC misuse that affect health-insurability and productivity.

In summary, the growing misuse of Benadryl among young people is less about novelty and more about desperation, digital culture and mis-guided experimentation. The trend shines light on an under-recognised zone of drug-risk, where legal, everyday medications become vectors of harm. Stakeholders—from parents to tech executives to health-regulators—must recognise that the lowest-cost substance may carry the highest risk when reframed through social-media-led peer dynamics.