ATLANTA — The Director of Georgia Poison Center tells Channel 2 Action News he has seen a surge in emergency calls on young teenagers overdosing on products containing diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl.
“2026 year to date, we have already had 278 cases reported to us. In the same period of 2025, we had 170 cases. So that represents a 63 percent increase. That’s a bit alarming,” said Georgia Poison Center Director Dr. Gaylord Garcia.
Nationwide calls to poison centers involving diphenhydramine and teens ages 13 to 19 doubled from last year, to 6,179 for the first five months of 2026. Officials say much of rise is attributed to social media users stating excessive amounts of the antihistamine drug cause euphoric feelings.
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“Children are being coerced or enticed into taking large amounts of Benadryl to get high, and we’re seeing overdoses from it. And it’s quite dangerous,” said Wellstar Health System Pediatrician Dr. Joanna Dolgoff.
Recently, three children in Connecticut died from apparent diphenhydramine overdoses.
“I’m very concerned that these numbers are going up. Benadryl overdoses can be incredibly dangerous,” said Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta emergency department pediatrician Dr. Manessha Agarwal.
Dr. Agarwal told Channel 2’s Tom Regan she has treated children that have overdosed on diphenhydramine.
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“They can very quickly dip into having abnormal vital signs, and then start having things like seizures, heart abnormalities and it can slip into coma and death. Which is why we worry about this so much,” said Dr. Agarwal.
She and other physicians say parents need to monitor their children’s social media habits and warn them of the danger of excessive use of over-the-counter drugs like Benadryl, which can be legally purchase by teens.
“It’s very, very serious. And parents need to be paying attention and doing everything to keep their children safe,” said Dr. Agarwal
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