Don’t try the ‘sleepy chicken’ you saw on TikTok

US health regulators are warning about the dangers of a new TikTok challenge that has teens cooking chicken with the cold medication NyQuil.

The so-called “sleepy chicken” involves cooking chicken breasts, marinated in NyQuil, in a pan. Nyquil contains acetaminophen, dextromethorphan and doxylamine, and boiling medication can change the concentration and properties of the ingredients, the food & drug administration (FDA) warns.

“Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapours while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body,” the statement explains. 

The trend is the latest example of how the power of social media can influence people to eat unsafe products, following fads that had some children eating Tide Pods or consuming large quantities of benadryl to get a high.

The FDA, concerned about the increase in dangerous health outcomes from online challenges, released an advisory urging parents to keep even over-the-counter medications away from children and educate them on the consequences of following social media advice. 

Inhaling NyQuil fumes could cause breathing issues, hallucinations, loss of consciousness or even seizures, says Bill Sullivan, professor of pharmacology & toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

“The vapours that are created as the NyQuil heats up also carry many drug molecules, which can get into the body through inhalation,” he said. “Inhaling these fumes can irritate the lungs and expose the individual to high doses of the drugs, which can alter brain chemistry.”

Andy Hirneisen, senior food safety educator at Penn State extension, warns that undercooking meat is already a danger for consumers. 

“We always follow the label, and this is definitely an off-label trend that’s happening,” he says. “There's already a microbiological risk and adding in this medicine would be adding a chemical risks as well.”

Social media challenges can be particularly dangerous for young people because they are fuelled by peer pressure, the FDA says. 

TikTok has previously banned certain hashtags associated with dangerous fads. Search results for “NyQuil chicken” have been deleted on TikTok. Instead, users see a safety warning that reads “some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing or even fabricated”. Searches for “sleepy chicken” or a misspelled version of chicken do still produce results.

“Content that promotes dangerous behaviour has no place on TikTok,” a company spokesperson says. “This is not trending on our platform, but we will remove content if found and strongly discourage anyone from engaging in behaviour that may be harmful to themselves or others.”

Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com