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Teen who wanted to be 'TikTok famous' left brain dead after viral 'Benadryl challenge'

Leah Presson took part in the viral Benadryl challenge where youngsters record themselves taking excessive amounts of the hayfever medicine to achieve a high - but it led to tragic consequences

[Leah Presson took part in the deadly trend]

Leah Presson took part in the deadly trend(Image: Facebook)

A 15-year-old girl has been left brain dead after taking part in a viral "Benadryl challenge." Leah Presson took part in the social media trend which involves youngsters recording themselves downing excessive amounts of the allergy medicine and try to stay awake to receive a high.

But Leah suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest. The Oklahoma teen who wanted to be " TikTok famous" is now in intensive care. Her devastated family say she has "zero brain activity" and they are now preparing to donate her organs.

Her heartbroken dad Richard Presson told 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 couldnt be stopped.

[Leah's dad issued a warning]

Leah's dad issued a warning(Image: Facebook)

Dr Ryan Brown said doctors are aware of the fatal trend and consider it incredibly dangerous, reports the Sun.

He said: 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.

Leah's dad added: I just want everybody to be aware of where they can educate their kids. But these challenges are just silly, and they need to be educated so it doesnt happen again.

He said after his daughter was pronounced brain dead, he was still waiting on a miracle even though some have given up but had chosen to donate her organs because she is the kind of girl that would have given anything to anybody.

He added on Sunday: She loved Greys Anatomy and is able to possibly save up to 90 lives with her little body.

[Leah has been declared brain dead]

Leah has been declared brain dead(Image: Facebook)

They have 72 hours before they harvest her organs and there will be an honor walk for her, where everyone lines the hallways and honors her.

Dr Brown said that Benadryl, when taken in the correct doses, can be useful for treating allergies and colds, but that can kill in excess amounts.

He added: If your child is acting strange, look around.

Make sure that theres not an empty pill bottle or something in the vicinity that may lead you to a clue as to what may have been going on.

There is no evidence to suggest that Leah took part in the challenge on TikTok. According to the social media site, any content that promotes dangerous behaviour which may lead to serious injury would be a violation of its Community Guidelines, and will be removed from the platform.

In 2025, TikTok had its highest-ever rate of proactive removal rate (content removed before it's reported): 99.3% and its highest-ever volume of content removed in under 24 hours: 94.8%.

To further discourage such content from being posted or replicated, TikTok do not show videos of dangerous challenges in search results.

Instead, it directs related searches and hashtags to an online Challenges Safety Center page we created with guidance from youth safety experts, an adolescent development doctor, and a behavioural scientist specialising in risk prevention in adolescence.

Searching Benadryl challenge has redirected to its Community Guidelines and substance support page for several years.

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