Benadryl challenge leads to Leah Presson, Oklahoma teen’s death & dad, Richard Presson seeking to change laws mandating identification and age verification for the purchase of over-the-counter medications that can be abused by minors as social media challenge leads to yet another young person’s death.
The father of an Oklahoma teenage girl who died from a Benadryl overdose after taking part in a social media challenge recorded a video of himself confronting a shopworker for allegedly selling his other daughter the medication.
Leah Presson, 15, died on June 14th after taking a large and dangerous amount of Benadryl as part of a viral social media trend known as the ‘Benadryl challenge,’ which had seen her hospitalized before mortally sucumbing according to NWA.
The challenge, which has circulated on TikTok and Facebook for years, encourages young people to swallow more than the recommended dose of the over-the-counter allergy medicine to try to hallucinate or get high. It has claimed the lives of other teenagers as well.
Oklahoma dad reprimands clerk selling Benadryl to minor
Health officials and doctors have warned about the social media dare for years.
Leah had tried the challenge before. She started having seizures, was taken to a hospital in Enid, then transferred to Integris Baptist in Oklahoma City where she was placed on a ventilator only to die days later.
Three days after Leah’s death, her father Richard Presson recorded a video at a gas station convenience store to see if the person behind the counter would sell Benadryl to the underage girl.
He brought his 17-year-old daughter with him and had her try to buy Benadryl. The Daily Mail reported that the worker scanned the item and was ready to complete the sale without checking ID or questioning her age. That’s when Richard stepped in with video (see below) showing the parent demanding the employee take the Benadryl off the counter, and explaining what had just happened to his younger daughter.
Diphenhydramine; active ingredient in Benadryl that can kill if abused
‘Take that Benadryl off there please,’ he told the seemingly surprised employee. ‘Kids are overdosing on that sh**. My daughter just died from it. I was gonna see if you’d sell it to her,’ the dad told the clerk.
‘There’s a Benadryl challenge all over Facebook and TikToks, and my daughter just died from…’ Richard continued before the worker finished his sentence and said, ‘overdose.’
It is unclear where Leah purchased the medication she took before she died, or whether the store or staff member in the video were involved.
A regular Benadryl pill contains 25 mg of the active ingredient, Diphenhydramine HCl, which can cause an overdose. It would take between 42 and 47 pills to reach the fatal threshold.
Diphenhydramine HCl is a first-generation over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamine used primarily to relieve allergy and cold symptoms, prevent motion sickness, and act as a short-term sleep aid
Walgreens sells 24 tablet packs of Benadryl for $7, meaning it would cost a teen just $14 to purchase enough of the pills to kill them.
Oklahoma dad campaigns to change laws with respect to sale of over the counter medications to minors
There’s no federal age restriction on purchasing Benadryl, and while some stores have their own policies, enforcement varies. The video appears to be Richard’s way of highlighting that gap after his own family’s loss. No specific details have been released publicly about where Leah got the medication she took or any investigation into individual stores
Laws can vary by state, county or city, and some stores implement independent policies to prevent people under 18 from purchasing Benadryl, but there is no universal restriction on selling it over the counter. But the Pressons are trying to change that as the family now seeks to enact ‘Leah’s Law.’
The law ‘would require identification and age verification for the purchase of over-the-counter medications that can be abused by minors,’ the father and wife posted on social media.
‘Our beautiful Leah is not a statistic. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a light in so many lives. A dangerous trend involving the misuse of over-the-counter medication stole her future, and our family will carry that pain forever,’ they continued.
‘If one simple step — showing an ID or meeting a minimum age requirement — can save even one child, then it is worth fighting for,’ the father and wife stated.
The family held a celebration of life for their daughter on June 24.
