Ohio boy, 13, overdoses on Benadryl in deadly TikTok challenge: family. ‘Our world has absolutely got out of control,’ Jacob Steven’s grandmother says.
A 13-year-old from Ohio is dead after attempting an apparent TikTok challenge that entailed consuming 12 to 14 Benadryl tablets — more than six times the recommended dosage, according to his family.
Jacob Stevens of Greenfield, Ohio, decided to partake in the challenge with his friends earlier this month and landed in the hospital, where he ultimately became brain-dead before his parents took him off life support, said Jacob’s father, Justin Stevens, on social media.
“We tried to tell him to stay off TikTok,” Jacob’s grandmother, Dianna Stevens, told Fox News Digital. “We didn’t want him on TikTok. There’s things on there that are good, but there’s also things on there that are bad.”
Jacob spent six days in the hospital with no brain activity before his family decided to take him off life support.
Justin Stevens shared a GoFundMe page for his son’s funeral expenses, writing that his family did “not think it’s fair” to keep the 13-year-old on life support with “no brain activity” after he was hospitalized.
The “challenge” to ingest 12 to 14 Benadryl pills apparently came from TikTok and was supposed to create hallucinations, but the outcome was deadly for Jacob. His friends were filming the challenge when the 13-year-old started having a seizure, and they left him because they were “scared,” Dianna said.
Just like many 13-year-old boys, Jacob loved to spend time outside, riding his bike and playing sports, but he was also very “curious” and had recently started spending more and more time on his phone, watching videos on YouTube and TikTok.
Eventually, Dianna noticed a shift in his behavior. Jacob got “a kick out of” TikTok videos, she said, and became somewhat addicted to watching them on his phone. At first, she thought his behavioral changes were just normal growing pains for a pre-teen boy. Now, she is warning other parents and grandparents to take notice when they notice changes in a child’s personality.
“One thing I’d like to get to parents and grandparents out there: If you know your children — if you see just the slightest little change — if they start staying away from you … I would just be cautious,” she advised.