The FDA is warning TikTokers who are jumping on the latest craze to beware … because NyQuil-marinated chicken is a dangerous thing. (Read More Here).
It sounds as disgusting as it is dangerous … “sleepy chicken” is what it’s called … some people say it helps with cold symptoms … duh.
“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 challenges people to cook chicken in NyQuil or similar over-the-counter cough and cold medications, according to the FDA. But, boiling certain medications can be harmful to breathe, let alone eat, the agency warned.
Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it.
The FDA didn’t cite any actual reports of people who’ve gone to the emergency room after chowing down on “NyQuil chicken.” But the agency mentioned a previous TikTok challenge that urged people to take large doses of the allergy medicine diphenhydramine (sold under the brand name of Benadryl, among others) to try to induce hallucinations, and that it led to reports of teenagers going to the emergency room.
Why are teens more likely to want to participate in bizarre, potentially dangerous stunts on social media?
According to HealthyChildren.org, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that handles rational thought, isn’t fully developed until a person hits their mid-20s. This is why teens tend to be more impulsive than adults, and why they may be more likely to succumb to the power of social media, which rewards risky and outlandish behavior:
Kids won’t necessarily stop to consider that laundry detergent is a poison that can burn their throats and damage their airways. Or that misusing medications like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and similar medicines can cause serious heart problems, seizures and coma. What they will focus on is that a popular kid in class did this and got hundreds of likes and comments.
The notice included warnings about other dangerous social media trends, like one TikTok challenge that urged viewers to consume large doses of the allergy medication diphenhydramine, which is found in Benadryl and other over-the-counter products, in order to hallucinate.
The agency said the so-called “Benadryl Challenge” has resulted in the hospitalizations and deaths of young people.
In the warning, the FDA provided several suggestion for how parents could prevent their children from participating in these harmful social media challenges. For example, parents should keep over-the-counter and prescription drugs away from their kids or lock up the medications to prevent accidental overdoses, the FDA said. The agency also encouraged parents and guardians to have clear and open conversations with their children.
“Sit down with your children and discuss the dangers of misusing drugs and how social media trends can lead to real, sometimes irreversible, damage,” the FDA said. “Remind your children that overdoses can occur with OTC drugs as well as with prescription drugs.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics also advised parents to speak with their teens about which challenges are trending on social media or at school.
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