E-Mail 'A Prepper’s Guide to Benadryl, by ARNJR' To A Friend

Email a copy of 'A Prepper’s Guide to Benadryl, by ARNJR' to a friend

* Required Field






Separate multiple entries with a comma. Maximum 5 entries.



Separate multiple entries with a comma. Maximum 5 entries.


E-Mail Image Verification

Loading ... Loading ...

17 Comments

  2. While I agree that it’s a good idea to have Benadryl on hand for specific use, I’m concerned that I only saw one passing reference in the article against use by those over 60.

    Benadryl’s active ingredient can cause severe problems in even a single dose to an elderly person. Please be aware that diphenhydramine, an anticholinergic, can cause extreme mental confusion including psychotic episodes, among other negative impacts. This would include Tylenol PM, Advil PM, Dimetapp, Dramamine, Paxil, Unisom, the opioid pain medication Demerol, and the bladder drug Vesicare.

    At this link is the story of a woman who almost killed her 95 year old mom with one dose. https://www.trendiee.com/articles/almost-killed-mom-simple-anti-itch-pill/ This link provides further information. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/popular-drugs-for-colds-allergies-linked-to-dementia/

    I strongly recommend a review of both links, and sharing this knowledge with everyone in your family. The last thing you need in a grid down situation is your 75 year old dad hollering to get the chainsaw because the trees are walking around outside.

  3. “a woman who almost killed her 95 year old mom with one dose. ”

    Just be aware that lawyers will gloom onto anything to defend their guilty client. Just because it was said in court does not make it true. In fact, sadly, everything a lawyer says should be taken with a grain of salt. It is far more likely that if you looked into this woman’s background she is mentally ill, perhaps merely bi-polar. But very unlikely that benadryl “makes you want to slap your momma”. Reminds me of the Harvey Milk defense.

  5. One other thing to keep in mind is benadryl and enlarged prostate. If you are a male over 50, which I am guessing a lot of you are, you may have BPH (Benign prostatic hyperplasia) AKA enlarged prostate. Use of Benadryl can aggravate symptoms. I Googled “benadryl and enlarged prostate” and the first result that came up was this quote: “Such drugs, known as adrenergics, can worsen urinary symptoms by preventing muscles in the prostate and bladder neck from relaxing to allow urine to flow freely. Antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl, generic), can also slow urine flow in some men with BPH.” My urologist told me to stay away from Benadryl and to use Mucinex

    1. There isn’t enough actual study of this issue to answer that. Mostly what you have out there is opinions and assumptions which trend in multiple directions. Here is the take away from this issue. People are different; they have different genetic problems or strengths, because of other medications and different environmental factors that can affect their reaction to any medication or diet. To conflate this simple fact with health effects on everyone/anyone is neither scientific nor logical. But yet it is not unusual for some people, even well educated people, to do exactly that.

  8. I’ve been taking an acetominephen/benedryl combination pill for a few weeks now. My doc said it would be ok to do. I underwent chemotherapy for a year two years ago and have since that time not had a decent nights sleep. Pain and sleeplessness kept me from sleeping more than 6 hours a night. The one little pill has made all the difference in the world. I hesitated to take it, not wanting to take any medicines. I am already starting to feel better in the days since I’m finally getting enough sleep to heal too. I get a generic bottle from walmart.com, but there could be better, cheaper places to get it. I do it this way because I know how. Oh and I’m not affiliated with any drug maker or walmart. I think I should stock up too.

  9. Folks, it’s all about risk vs benefit. As a clinical pharmacist of some 36 years practice, I’ve seen a lot of practice trends come and go. The mention of delirium risk in older patients mentioned by several above is absolutely valid; however, there is no “red line of Benadryl death” when it comes to chronological age. To be precise, diphenhydramine is a first generation antihistamine, which also has anticholinergic effects (this would be considered a “side effect” if you’re taking the med for allergies). It is the anticholinergic (aka, “adrenergic”) effects that cause problems for older/debilitated folks, as well as for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (i.e., BPH…the “H” stood for hypertrophy until recently). This is why newer, “second generation” antihistamines can generally be taken by older patients without the same risk (meds like Zyrtec (cetirizine), Claritin (loratidine) and others) – they have far less anticholinergic effect. Predictably, they also are less useful for insomnia, nausea, nasal symptoms of colds, and have no topical anesthetic properties.
    Though the risk of delirium in elderly patients is well-documented with drugs like Benadryl, if the SHTF, and you’re a 70 year old, healthy individual who is experiencing intractable vomiting or anxiety-provoked insomnia to the point of exhaustion, a dose of Benadryl may certainly be of more benefit than risk…if it’s the only option you have!
    “You pays your money and takes your chances!”
    Best Regards

    1. I am in my 70’s and have used benadryl for a sleep aid for years. Works great at the 25mg dose. Oh, it hasn’t killed me yet either. As it does make me drowsy I would not take it for much of the other uses unless very necessary.

  10. While I agree Benadryl can be a useful drug to have on hand, it’s worth noting that Harvard did a study a couple of years ago concerning a connection between Benadryl usage and dementia. I had regularly used a Benadryl as a sleep aid but have stopped cold turkey. I’m an RN and honestly took the study with a grain of salt until mentioning it to a doctor. He whole heartedly agreed that there is a connection between this class of drugs and dementia. I’m just mentioning this for those who may use it nightly for sleep. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a pill that I would take for sleep.

  12. A very good article and some extremely good comments. I have Benadryl, Zyrtec and Claritin in my medical supplies. For what it is worth, where I live Benadryl 25 mg is over the counter and 50 mg is by prescription. However the 50 mg can be sold as over the counter if it is going to be used as a sleep aid. (Kind of stupid as if you can pass second grade math you can figure out how to double the dosage) You might be able to find a pharmacy willing to sell medications such as this as a behind the counter medication, as compared to over the counter. It could save you a few dollars as the bottle will typically have 500 or a 1000 doses.

    It might be available in the pharmacies in Mexico for much lower prices than in the states. I doubt that customs will be very interested in you if you are bringing antihistamines. back.

    Very good advice on the Epi-Pen also. We had a ptienat come in to the ER who had accidentally injected her thumb when she was disposing of an old pen. Her thumb was white fro mlack of blood flow. The first thing we did was a hot soak to the area. Epi-Pens have come down in price but are still very expensive. An alternative is epinephrine in glass ampules. Although they not as fast to use they are much more affordable and can be administered with a diabetic type syringe.

  13. I was warned by a nurse that benadryl can spike your blood pressure.
    An internet search confirms this:
    “Antihistamines like Benadryl may not be effective or safe when you have high blood pressure. So, it is not recommended in those with a hypertension diagnosis. “

  14. In addition to all the human uses, it can be used in dogs, not just for allergic reactions. It is one of the better doggie downers we’ve tried, but try it ahead of the need. It can have the opposite affect on some dogs, as we discovered the hard way.

Comments are closed.