TikTok is at it again, and this time the FDA is stepping in! The video-sharing platform is known for sharing hilarious videos, creating conspiracy theories, and producing viral dance routines that take over the world.
However, TikTok is also home to some of the most bizarre viral challenges that can potentially lead to a day in the emergency room. The latest craze to sweep the social media platform involves chicken and the cough syrup NyQuil, and the Food and Drug Administration has had enough!
TikTok Circulates New NyQuil & Chicken Challenge
On TikTok, a new challenge surfaced where people marinate and saute chicken in a pan and filled with a large amount of NyQuil as though it is a broth. The bizarre trend, which has been tagged #sleepychicken, has over one million videos on the platform and has many teenagers as its participants.
In light of the dangerous movement, the FDA released a lengthy statement on the internet deterring teenagers and urging parents to be vigilant as the syrup involved in an over-the-counter drug, making it susceptible to misuse.
In a September 15 post shared on the federal agency’s website, they strongly kicked against the use of NyQuil or any other similar OTC cold medication as a cooking ingredient.
FDA Warns That NyQuil & Chicken Don’t Go Together. Duh?
“The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing — and it is. But it could also be very unsafe,” the agency warned before explaining the logic behind their advice.
They wrote, “Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs. Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it.”
While the FDA didn’t confirm if anyone has been taken to the emergency room as a result of ingesting or inhaling too much NyQuil, it brought to mind a previous TikTok challenge involving teenagers consuming large doses of the allergy medicine diphenhydramine.
People would take this medication in large quantities to induce hallucinations and, as a result, end up in the emergency room. In some fatal cases, some participants died, the FDA warned.
The federal agency armed parents with tips on how to prevent their kids from being victims of such a craze trend. They urged parents to keep both OTC and prescription drugs locked up far away from their children. The statement also encouraged parents to discuss the dangers of social media trends and misusing drugs.
Not The First Life-threatening TikTok Challenge
While the FDA had to step in this time, this isn’t the first time a TikTok challenge has caused quite the alarm. Back in August 2021, there was the infamous “Milk Crate Challenge.”
The ludicrous challenge saw people challenged to walk on a tall pyramid formation of milk crates at a fast speed without destroying the pyramid or falling off. Unfortunately, as expected, videos of the trend saw multiple people falling off great heights and breaking their backs, necks, and other body parts.
Per The Blast, the high blowback from the challenge caused TikTok management to issue a warning via a statement that read, “TikTok prohibits content that promotes or glorifies dangerous acts, and we remove videos and redirect searches to our Community Guidelines to discourage such content. We encourage everyone to exercise caution in their behavior whether online or off.”
FDA issued warning of TikTok challenge that encourages people to cook chicken in NyQuil pic.twitter.com/ahTtA8ETsm
— DomisLive NEWS (@domislivenews) September 20, 2022
Backing their words with actions, TikTok began taking down the hashtag #milkcratechallenge from their platform, which had racked up more than 9 million views. Also, medical experts took to social media to warn about the devastating injuries the challenge can cause.
While it’s unlikely that a year would pass by without some craze challenge storming through the internet, we hope that the FDA’s warnings cause a real change.
