Although this is probably a joke, the US Food and Drug Administration is seriously concerned and is now warning against this cough syrup abuse. Viral is not exactly medicine – on TikTok it is at the moment ! The latest food trend on TikTok is a recipe:
Chicken cooked in cough syrup
As you can clearly see in the photo, which comes directly from the app, the trend goes by the name “Sleepy Chicken”. It is also sometimes called “NyQuil Chicken”, which comes entirely unintentionally from the American cough syrup brand of the same name. What looks unappetizing at first glance is also dangerous to your health. There can be no talk of grandma's “healthy chicken soup” here.
Kitchen trend just a joke?
If you take a closer look at the video, you will notice that the most popular and most clicked video on the topic is obviously a joke. In it you can see a person deglazing the still raw chicken in the pan with a large amount of green cough syrup. The chef says he usually uses four-thirds of the bottle and then turns the chicken with a flat iron.
But apparently not all viewers have understood this joke , because the trend has now received a lot of attention from thousands of TikTok users, some of whom - albeit rarely - cook the “recipe”. It is difficult to judge whether they are just making the recordings as a joke or actually out of appetite.
Artificial bubble!
The “Nyquil Chicken” is not new, nor is it a real social media phenomenon. As Engadget writes on 9/22/22, the “Nyquil Chicken” was actually a joke on 4chan back in 2017.
No proof
At the beginning of 2022, this meme actually appeared briefly on TikTok, but disappeared again. It was only after the FDA announcement that interest in this dubious recipe exploded. As is often the case with such challenges, there is no evidence that people have actually eaten the Nyquil Chicken.
It was only the warning from the US authorities that made the whole thing a TikTok trend
It is not clear whether the warning itself is the trigger for users to actually try this out. In other words: The supposedly viral TikTok phenomenon is actually just an artificial bubble.
American health authorities warn of danger
The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also aware of the trend, takes it very seriously and is now warning about its dangerous side effects. Even though the cough syrup can be purchased without a prescription, it is not risk-free. The authority warns that the rising vapor in particular can damage the lungs when inhaled:
“Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways.” The ingredients in cough syrup – acetaminophen (pain reliever), dextromethorphan (cough suppressant) and doxylamine (antihistamine) – can have serious consequences if used incorrectly. For this reason, the FDA urges people to only take medications at the intended dosage because the recipe could cause someone to “take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medication without realizing it.”
The authority's warning is now aimed primarily at parents and encourages them to talk to their children about "how social media trends can cause real, sometimes irreversible harm."
TikTok has since responded
The supposed food trend had now attracted many reactions from other users, who expressed their disgust at the dish or correctly warned and advised against its consumption. Now the platform itself has also reacted and has already removed the original video and many imitators from TikTok. However, it hasn't completely disappeared and you still occasionally see people pouring cough syrup bottles into pans and bringing the blue liquid to a boil.
The social network has added a warning here:
“Participating in this activity could cause you or others to become injured.”
Always dangerous challenges
The “Sleepy Chicken” is just one of many dangerous trends on TikTok. At the beginning of September , a 14-year-old boy died during a TikTok challenge because he held his breath in front of the camera until he passed out. American children have already strangled themselves in this blackout challenge , after which their parents sued TikTok for mishandling deadly content.
The “Benadryl Challenge” also took place in 2020, in which users filmed themselves taking large amounts of an anti-allergic drug. Dramatically , according to some media reports , any help and warning came too late for a then 15-year-old girl; she died as a result of her participation.
With many of these challenges there is often no line between entertainment and health risks. This is why both the FDA and TikTok itself responded so drastically and seriously to this apparent joke.
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Author: Nick L.
Also read:
Blackout Challenge: Parents sue TikTok after the death of their daughters
TikTok: Fake videos, dangerous challenges and addictive potential worry parents
Please don't imitate it: You can get seriously injured with the “Skull Breaker Challenge”!
What parents need to know about TikTok
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )