Social media challenges involving ingestion of diphenhydramine, laundry pods, nutmeg and cinnamon were associated with increases of reported ingestions to America’s Poison Centers National Poison Data System (NPDS). How long after Google Trends showed a peak did the number of reported ingestions with suicidal intent to NPDS increase?
The interval between Google searches for ingestion challenges and the increase in reports of ingestion with suicidal intent to NPDS was 1-2 months.
Marshall RD, Bailey J, Lin A, Sheridan DC, Hendrickson RG, Hughes A, Horowitz BZ. Impact of social media “challenges” on poison center case volume for intentional ingestions among school-aged children: an observational study. Clinical Toxicology. 2024 Apr 6:1-7.
Contributed by Kristine Nanagas, MD