Oklahoma Teen’s Brain Death Over Benadryl Challenge

Fifteen-year-old Leah Presson of Enid, Oklahoma, was admitted to intensive care in 2024 after ingesting a large dose of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for a TikTok “Benadryl challenge.” She suffered a seizure, cardiac arrest, and has been declared brain dead, remaining on a ventilator.

Newsweek

The Benadryl challenge appeared on TikTok in 2020, urging users to take excessive Benadryl to stay awake for a high. The FDA asked TikTok to remove the videos and warned of heart problems, seizures, coma, or death. TikTok blocks “Benadryl” searches, yet users bypass the block and trend resurfaced in 2023-2024.

Newsweek

Recommended Benadryl dosing is one tablet every four to six hours, max six tablets per 24 hours. Challenge participants often take about twelve tablets or more, risking seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, and reduced cerebral blood flow that can cause brain death. Since 2020, teen overdoses include a fatal Oklahoma case and over 100 emergency-department visits for Benadryl overdose at Fort Worth Children’s Hospital in Texas in six months.

Newsweek

Father Richard Presson called his daughter “a great person” who sought TikTok fame, expressed hope for a miracle, and announced organ donation. Dr. Ryan Brown warned that excessive diphenhydramine “can lead to seizures and cardiac arrhythmias…which can lead to brain death.” Health experts call the challenge “silly” and “dangerous,” urging parental monitoring. Critics note that despite the FDA’s 2020 request, TikTok videos persist and search block has not fully stopped exposure. Sources differ on Leah’s status—some say “no brain activity,” others “brain dead”—and on dosage, ranging from “around 12 pills” to “sometimes more.” Presson reported at least five attempts, first around Christmas.

Daily Star

Leah’s family is proceeding with organ donation, potentially saving up to 90 recipients. Health officials urge parents to discuss online challenges with children and call poison-control for suspected overdoses. The FDA continues monitoring the trend and TikTok’s enforcement.

Daily Star

• “She’s been a giver her whole life. She’s wanted to save lives and stuff like that. We went to donate her organs so she could save up to 90 other lives with her small little body,” — Richard Presson, father

NewsNation

• “Leah is a very great person and she always wanted to be TikTok famous. It hurts to see that my daughter is now laying lifeless because of some challenge that couldn’t be stopped.” — Richard Presson

NewsNation

• “I don't even want to think about a funeral because I feel like there's still hope and everybody's like, giving up too soon....I believe in miracles, that she's definitely a miracle baby.” — Richard Presson

Newsweek

• “When you take the Benadryl or diphenhydramine in excess of that, in excess of this, it can lead to seizures and cardiac arrhythmias, and sometimes those cardiac arrhythmias lead to cardiac arrest, which can lead to no blood to the brain, which can lead to brain death.” — Dr. Ryan Brown, physician

Daily Star