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The father of an Oklahoma teenage girl who died from a Benadryl overdose recorded a video of himself confronting a shopworker for allegedly selling his other daughter the medication.
Leah Presson, 15, died on June 14 in an Oklahoma City hospital after allegedly taking a fatal dose of Benadryl for a ‘challenge’ on social media.
The practice has been around for years on TikTok and other platforms, where videos encourage teens to take as much allergy medicine as needed to hallucinate or ‘trip out.’ It has claimed the lives of other teenagers as well.
Three days after Leah died, her father, Richard Presson, recorded a video at what appears to be a gas station with Leah’s older sister to see if the person behind the counter would sell Benadryl to the underage girl.
‘This is my 17-year-old daughter. We’re seeing if they’ll sell her Benadryl,’ Richard said at the start of the video while the teenager stood in line.
Once she got to the counter, the worker scanned the Benadryl and was ready to sell it without a second thought. Richard then walked up and stopped the transaction.
‘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,’ he said.
‘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.
Leah Presson, 15, died after allegedly overdosing on Benadryl because of a ‘challenge’ on social media
Leah’s father, Richard Presson, recorded a video while testing whether a shopworker would sell his other, 17-year-old daughter Benadryl
Richard is pictured stopping the transaction after the worker was about to sell the Benadryl to his 17-year-old and telling the employee that his 15-year-old overdosed on the medication
According to the University of Utah, the threshold for a fatal Benadryl overdose is typically about 20 mg per kilogram a person weighs.
The average weight of a 15-year-old girl is 52kg to 58kg. That would make a fatal dose around 1.04 grams to 1.16 grams for a girl in that weight range.
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.
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.
Despite the ease of buying enough Benadryl to kill, there is no federal age limit on purchasing the medication.
Benadryl has a warning on its website that says: ‘When taking any over-the-counter medicine, always read the drug facts label carefully and use only as directed.’ The company also has an official ‘dosing guide’ for its products.
A spokesperson for Kenvue, the manufacturer of Benadryl, shared a statement with the Daily Mail that said in part: ‘The health and safety of people who use our products is our top priority.
‘The social media trend promoting misuse of diphenhydramine-containing products is extremely dangerous and should be stopped immediately. Our hearts go out to those impacted by the misuse of diphenhydramine-containing products.
Leah is pictured in an Oklahoma City hospital bed hooked up to a ventilator. She died on June 14
‘We are working with social media platform Safety teams to remove these dangerous posts and help stop this behavior from spreading. We are also taking action to educate on the safe use and storage of over the counter (OTC) medicines, including those with the ingredient diphenhydramine.’
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.
In the Oklahoma City area, where the Presson family lives, there are no age restrictions or prescription requirements to buy Benadryl.
But the Pressons are trying to change that. According to a joint Facebook post shared by Leah’s father and stepmother, the family is trying 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 wrote.
‘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 argued.
In a later post, the couple described Leah as ‘a beautiful, outspoken young lady whose presence could never be ignored.’
Leah’s family described her as ‘a beautiful, outspoken young lady whose presence could never be ignored’
‘She lived life with honesty, passion, and a heart that loved fiercely. When Leah cared about someone, she loved them with her whole heart, and that love was something you could truly feel,’ they said.
The family held a celebration of life for their daughter on June 24.
The Kenvue spokesperson shared three tips, ‘to help put an end to this life-threatening trend of misuse.’
The listed tips said to: ‘Report content related to this trend on the social media platform it appears on.
‘Always store OTC medicines up and away in places children cannot access- preferably in locked cabinets or container- and never leave medications on counters, bedside tables or in open bags, even temporarily.
‘As with any OTC medicine, carefully read and follow the instructions on the label and educate children on safe use and the dangers of not doing so.’
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