“We are seeing either children are taking the medication in an inappropriate amount intentionally or accidentally ingesting it,” said Stephanie Felton, D.O., associate medical director for the emergency department at the medical center in Fort Worth. 

The trend mirrors a similar spike seen at Cook Children’s in 2020. During that year, patients reported getting the idea from TikTok videos claiming users could hallucinate by taking a dozen or more allergy pills. While that trend eventually faded through education and public awareness, a recent resurgence has prompted medical experts to issue a new alert for parents and caregivers.

“These are heartbreaking cases because these are usually normal, healthy, fully-functioning children that can have dire effects because of this choice,” said Dr. Felton.

She adds that these incidents often bring to light underlying issues, including bullying or psychiatric illnesses such as depression or anxiety.

The Power of Open Dialogue

Medical experts say open communication is the first line of defense in preventing an overdose. Dr. Felton acknowledges these can be difficult conversations, however, she emphasizes it can make a potentially life-saving difference.

“Be aware of what they're dealing with, their environments, what they're looking at, what they're watching,” explained Dr. Felton. “Ask them questions, direct questions.” 

Because Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is an over-the-counter medication, it is easily accessible to children and teens. Experts say it is important to communicate that consuming any medication improperly can be detrimental to a person's health in both the short and long term. 

“There is specific per age, per weight, how much you can take of a medication, if you go outside of that you can cause harm to your body,” said Dr. Felton.

Recognizing an overdose

While it may seem trivial because it is an over-the-counter medication, Dr. Felton explains that an overdose can have lifelong effects. This includes heart arrhythmias, electrolyte abnormalities, or urinary retention that can impact the kidneys. Hallucinations can also affect the brain.

Monitor for these symptoms of an overdose:

• Hot but not with a fever
• Pupillary size
• Heart arrhythmias
• Seizures
• Difficulty breathing
• Hallucination

Tips for Poison Prevention: 

Safe Medication Dosing 

• Follow the dosing directions listed on the medication by using the appropriate measuring items, such as a medicine cup or oral syringe.
• Double dosing is NOT twice as effective, and in many instances can cause internal damage.
• Adult medications may be too strong for children and should not be given in half doses. Only give medicine to your child that is intended for children.
• Print the medication schedule to keep the right dosage for your family. 

Safe Storage 

• Many people leave medications on bathroom and kitchen counters as well as bedroom nightstands as a visual reminder to take them. Avoid unintentional injury and store medication up high, locked, and out of reach.
• Hang purses and personal bags up high so children cannot reach prescriptions, vitamins, or other regularly used medications.
• Remember, when visiting friends and family, it is ok to have an open discussion about safe storage. 

Safe Disposal 

• DEA Drug Take Back Day is on April 25th from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Visit a medication drop box at a local pharmacy. For more information on poison prevention, visit www.meddropbox.org.
• The best disposal option is to find a drug take-back location, which may be found in retail, hospital, pharmacies, and/or law enforcement facilities.
• Removing any unused or expired medication in the home can reduce the risk of access. 

 Related Stories:

• Spring Break with Allergies: Things to Be on the Lookout For This Season
• Cook Children's Experts Warn of Dangerous Social Media Challenges on 'The Doctors'
• TikTok Videos Encourage Viewers to Overdose on Benadryl

With respiratory illnesses on the rise for both adults and children, many families are turning to cough medications for much-needed seasonal relief. Cook Children’s Health Care System is providing essential safety guidance regarding Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) after seeing cases of accidental ingestion. While effective for older children and adults, health experts are highlighting the importance of strict storage and dosing to prevent accidental ingestion in younger children.

 “Tessalon Perles are used to treat cough for kids over 10 but no safe dosing for younger children has been established,” said Mariana Wilson, M.D., medical director, Cook Children’s Medical Center- Prosper hospitalist. 

Because these liquid-filled capsules can resemble candy, they pose a significant risk to toddlers. Clinical data shows that even a small amount of benzonatate can be toxic to a young child; a recent tragedy in Denton County has prompted local experts to remind families of the need for secure storage.

“Unintentional poisoning can happen to anyone, at any age,” said Klaressa Broughton, poison prevention program coordinator at the Center for Community Health. Broughton explains that these incidents, affecting children from birth through age 18, primarily involved medications and unspecified non-drug poisonings.

In 2025, Cook Children’s Medical Center - Fort Worth saw an increase of poisoning encounters: 1,031 cases compared to 818 in 2024. Broughton explains that the top poisoning for 2025 involved children of all ages from birth to 18 and were related to medication and unspecified non-drug poisonings.  

“If the capsules are chewed, then release of benzonatate from the capsule in the mouth can produce a temporary numbing of the mouth and choking could occur,” explained Wilson. “If parents find a chewed capsule, even if it’s not completely consumed, they should call poison control or come to the ED,” said Wilson.

Cook Children’s experts share what care givers should know to keep their children safe.

Symptoms of Overdose

Symptoms of a benzonatate overdose can appear rapidly, often within 15 to 20 minutes of ingestion:

• Restlessness
• Tremors
• Convulsions
• Coma
• Cardiac arrest

“With technology at our fingertips, it is easy to turn to the internet browser for answers, but this can lead to unclear next steps,” said Broughton. “Calling the poison center at 1-800-222-1222 is free, confidential and all calls are answered by specially trained nurses, doctors and pharmacists.”

If a child becomes unresponsive, call 911 immediately.

Tips for Poison Prevention: 

Safe Medication Dosing 

• Follow the dosing directions listed on the medication by using the appropriate measuring items, such as a medicine cup or oral syringe.
• Double dosing is NOT twice as effective, and in many instances can cause internal damage.
• Adult medications may be too strong for children and should not be given in half doses. Only give medicine to your child that is intended for children.
• Print the medication schedule to keep the right dosage for your family. 

Safe Storage 

• Many people leave medications on bathroom and kitchen counters as well as bedroom nightstands as a visual reminder to take them. Avoid unintentional injury and store medication up high, locked, and out of reach.
• Hang purses and personal bags up high so children cannot reach prescriptions, vitamins, or other regularly used medications.
• Remember, when visiting friends and family, it is ok to have an open discussion about safe storage. 

Safe Disposal 

• DEA Drug Take Back Day is on April 25th from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Visit a medication drop box at a local pharmacy. For more information on poison prevention, visit www.meddropbox.org.
• The best disposal option is to find a drug take-back location, which may be found in retail, hospital, pharmacies, and/or law enforcement facilities.
• Removing any unused or expired medication in the home can reduce the risk of access. 

 Related Stories:

• Expert Tips for a Safe Spring Break: Poison Prevention
• Know When to Use Telemedicine, Urgent Care, or the ER for Kids
• The Ultimate Holiday Safety Checklist

After all, they’d already seen one rough and tumble boy try to wreck the house and put everything in his mouth, so they were ready for the other two. Or so they thought, until one brief, fluke of a moment.

Heidi World Slaydon gave her son Blaze, who was 18 months old at the time, a bath. Heidi placed Blaze down briefly to grab something and when she picked him up, she realized he’d bitten into a laundry detergent pod. The pod box was said to be child-proofed and Heidi placed it so high up that she used a stool to reach it. But somehow, one got on the floor.

Chris Slaydon, Blaze’s father, said his little boy couldn’t have been on the floor more than 15 seconds. But that was enough time to put it in his mouth and bite into it. After calling poison control, the Slaydons were told to monitor their little child. Within a matter of minutes, Blaze was stumbling around like he was drunk. His parents scooped up Blaze and rushed him to the emergency room in Vernon, Texas.

Teddy Bear Transport took Blaze to Cook Children’s. He spent 10 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after ingesting the laundry detergent pod. He suffered throat burn, infiltrated lungs and a blockage of airway passage, causing him to spend 10 days on a breathing tube.

Doctors treated Blaze with a strong dosage of steroids and a year later Blaze is doing well physically. Although his dad says his son still has the occasional nightmare about the traumatic event. He’s not alone.

“I can’t describe the utter fear we had then,” Chris Slaydon said. “It was terrifying. One, you are so helpless. Two, it’s a child full of innocence. We aren’t talking about an 18 year old. This is an 18 month old. We can’t even talk with him about what’s going on. He’s still in diapers. What happened to Blaze could happen to anyone.”

Single-load laundry detergent pods hit the market in early 2012. In the May 2016 edition, Pediatrics released a comprehensive report on the dangers of "Pediatric Exposures to Laundry and Dishwasher Detergents in the United States."

The study found that of the 117 children who required intubation, 104 were exposed to laundry degergent packets. During the study, 2013-2014, there were two deaths and both were linked to laundry detergent packets.

Because the number of children making contact with these pods, ConsumerReports^® announced that it would not include pods on its list of recommended laundry detergents and strongly urged households with children 6 and under not to keep them in the house.

Laundry pod exposures reported to Texas Poison Center Network (Oct. 1, 2014 – July 16, 2015):

Corwin Warmink, M.D., medical director of the Emergency Department at Cook Children’s, says children under school age are particularly at risk due to the packaging of the pods looking like candy, so ingestion is more likely. Smaller children also are more at risk for severe complications.

The most common effects are vomiting, coughing, choking, fatigue or drowsiness and eye irritation/pain. But it can be much more serious.

“Deaths have occurred and these exposures can be quite severe, causing respiratory depression and failure,” Dr. Warmink said. “The easiest solution is to not keep any such detergent in the house, if you have children … especially under age 6. If you choose to use them, even after all the warnings, keep them in an absolutely child-proof, high cabinet. Although, I’m not sure if there is such a thing”

Just ask the Slaydon family.

“I’m not angry with the company or anything like that,” Chris Slaydon said. “This is a chemical and it’s manufactured to be extremely potent and concentrated. But because of that, it’s a lot more dangerous to kids. You can try to watch your kids 24/7, but it only took seconds for us to take our eyes off of Blaze. People need to be aware this can happen to them. Kids get into stuff. I don’t really blame anyone. I just want parents to be aware that it can happen to them and if you have a little child, don’t keep these products in your house.”

Learn more about poison prevention, by clicking here. 

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy said e-cigarettes are the most commonly used form of tobacco among young people in the United States, surpassing conventional tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and hookahs.

From 2011 to 2015, e-cigarette use among high school students increased 900 percent.

"Compared with older adults, the brain of youth and young adults is more vulnerable to the negative consequences of nicotine exposure," Dr.. Murthy said. 

During the press conference, Dr. Murthy took the opportunity to introduce a new interactive website to provide the facts on e-cigarette use among young and young adults. 

The site states that 6 of 10 American teens believe that e-cigarettes cause little or only some harm as long as they are used sometimes, but not every day. However, the site says that e-cigarettes pose a "significant -- and avoidable -- health risk to young people in the United States. Besides increasing hte possibility of addiction and long-term harm to brain development and respiratory health, e-cigarettes use is associated with the use of tobacco products that can do even more damage to the body. Even breathing e-cigarette aerosol that someone else has exhaled poses potential health risks.

To learn more about e-cigarettes, we talked to Don Wilson, M.D., an endocrinologist and an Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Health and Risk Prevention at Cook Children’s.

What do e-cigarettes do?

E-cigarettes are designed to simulate the act of smoking and deliver nicotine without the toxic chemicals produced by burning tobacco. The use of nicotine, however, is highly addictive. Recent research suggested nicotine exposure may also cause the brain to become addicted to other substances. Vapor from some e-cigarettes has also been shown to contain known cancer producing and toxic chemicals, such as diethylene glycol and nitrosamines, as well as small particles of toxic metals. Although not well studied, there is the potential for second hand exposure by others in the environment.

How do e-cigarettes work?

E-cigarettes are smokeless, battery operated devices designed to deliver nicotine mixed with a variety of flavorings (fruit, mint, chocolate, etc.) and other chemicals via an inhaled aerosol. They typically resemble regular tobacco cigarettes, cigars, pipes or everyday items like pins or USB memory sticks.

Most e-cigarettes generally contain three components: a cartridge that contains a liquid solution containing various amounts of nicotine, flavoring and other chemicals, a heating device or vaporizer, and a rechargeable battery. Puffing on the e-cigarette activates the battery powered heating device causing the liquid to vaporize. The vapor is inhaled by the user. E-cigarette vapor may include metals, rubber and ceramics which may be aerosolized and have adverse health effects.

Are e-cigarettes safe?

Although a limited number of studies have been conducted, the safety of e-cigarettes has not thoroughly been evaluated in scientific studies.

Here are a few points to consider:

• Nicotine is highly addictive and has negative effects on brain development from infancy to teens.
• Potential consequences of using e-cigarettes among youth include nicotine addiction, withdrawal and the potential for overdose.
• The use of a variety of flavoring in the liquid solution of e-cigarettes has created concern for accidental ingestion by smaller children.
• With the rapid increase in use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), users and nonusers are exposed to the aerosol product. While e-cigarette aerosol may contain fewer toxins than cigarette smoke, studies evaluating whether e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes are inconclusive.

Bottom line: e-cigarettes are often promoted as safer alternatives to cigarette smoking. Although very little is known about their safety, they are increasingly being used by youth and young adults.

What about second hand exposure?

The potential exists for secondhand nicotine and other tobacco-related toxin exposures to others. Studies have shown that e-cigarettes are a source of secondhand exposure to nicotine but not to combustion toxins. Thus, while use of e-cigarettes in indoor environments may involuntarily expose nonsmokers to nicotine, it does not seem to expose them to toxic, tobacco-specific combustion products.

What does the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend?

To protect the health of youth, the American Academy of Pediatrics has made the following recommendations:

• Sales of e-cigarettes to minors (under 18 years of age) should be prohibited.
• Candy and fruit flavored e-cigarettes, which encouraged youth smoking initiation, should be banded.
• To avoid exposing others to potential harm, laws should mandate smoke-free environments which include e-cigarette vapor.
• To prevent poisoning, all e-liquids should be required to be sold in child-proof packaging.