After a social media challenge encouraging others to try it went viral, the FDA issued a warning against frying chicken in NyQuil.
The “sleepy chicken challenge” is a fad that instructs people to boil chicken in over-the-counter cough and cold remedies like NyQuil or similar products that contain acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and doxylamine.
The challenge is ridiculous and boring, and it sounds like it. The FDA warned that it might possibly be extremely dangerous. “Boiling a drug can greatly increase its concentration and alter its physical characteristics in various ways.”
Even if someone doesn’t intend to consume the chicken, inhaling the pharmaceutical vapours as it cooks may still result in large doses of the drug entering the body.
The FDA warned that it might harm your lungs as well. Simply put, someone could accidentally consume a dangerously excessive dose of cough and cold medication.
Social media challenges including medicine have gained popularity before. In a 2020 TikTok challenge known as the “Benadryl challenge,” participants were urged to consume massive dosages of the allergy medication diphenhydramine in order to induce hallucinations. The FDA issued a warning about using large doses of the medicine after receiving numerous reports of youngsters who ended up in the hospital or died.
The FDA stated that “these video challenges, which frequently target youths, might injure people and even cause death.” Since many families have easy access to nonprescription (also known as over-the-counter or OTC) medications, these difficulties are made even worse.
The FDA’s most recent warning offered parents a number of strategies for discouraging kids from participating in social media challenges, including locking away prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals to prevent unintentional overdoses. The FDA likewise urged guardians and parents to talk openly with their kids.
The FDA advised parents to sit down with their kids and talk about the risks of drug abuse and how social media fads may cause actual, sometimes irreparable damage. “Remind your kids that overdoses can happen with both prescription and over-the-counter medications.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics also released a warning concerning social media trends after the FDA did. The Mannequin Challenge and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge are two examples of challenges that can be entertaining and inspiring. The sleepy chicken and Benadryl challenges, however, are medication-related challenges that might result in fatal cardiac issues, comas, seizures, and even death.
The brains of adolescents are still growing. The prefrontal cortex, which controls rational cognition, does not fully develop until the mid-20s, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Teenagers are therefore by nature more impulsive and likely to act without fully considering the consequences.
According to the article, social media favours extreme behaviour, and the more outrageous the behaviour, the more probable it is that the person will receive more online engagement.
According to the academy, “it’s a quick-moving, impulsive atmosphere, and the fear of missing out is genuine for kids.” They’ll concentrate on the fact that a popular student in the class did this and received a large number of likes and comments.
The academy advised parents and guardians to have a conversation with teenagers about the issues that are popular on social media and in the classroom.
It stated that “kids are sometimes more inclined to talk about their peers than themselves.” Asking inquiries about friends, fads, and school trends may produce more information than asking direct questions about a person’s personal activities.
Call 911 or 800-222-1222 for poison control if a child who has taken too much medication is hallucinating, can’t be roused from sleep, is having a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, has collapsed, or is exhibiting other indicators of drug abuse.
