Whoever stays hospitalized the longest wins: what is the “Paracetamol Challenge”, this deadly challenge that is going viral on TikTok ?

For several months, an extremely dangerous challenge from the United States has been wreaking havoc among teenagers: the “Paracetamol Challenge”.

For several months, on the social network TikTok, a new dangerous challenge has been all the rage among teenagers: the Paracetamol Challenge.

Health authorities are warning

The “game” consists of ingesting as many paracetamol tablets as possible and staying in the hospital as long as possible. Whoever spends the most time there will have won.

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On TikTok, the challenge, which originated in the United States, has grown so much that European health authorities and poison control centers have issued an alert to warn parents and healthcare professionals.

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Although it may seem trivial, paracetamol is not a harmless drug: it is even the “worst suicide”, according to the pharmacologist at the Bordeaux University Hospital, Mathieu Molimard at Le Point.

“A powerful, dangerous poison”

Marketed under several names, Doliprane, Efferalgan, Dafalgan, Paracetamol is far from being harmless to the human body. Although it is available over the counter in pharmacies, it remains “a powerful, dangerous poison”, recalls the pharmacologist at the Bordeaux University Hospital, Mathieu Molimard at Point.

Able to cause vomiting or stomach pain, an overdose of paracetamol can also have irreversible consequences. These include serious damage to the liver, kidneys and brain. In the most extreme cases, an overdose of paracetamol can “lead to death,” warned the canton of Vaud in Switzerland in a press release.

As a reminder, the maximum recommended dose in the absence of medical advice is 1 gram per dose, 3 times a day, with doses spaced at least 6 hours apart. In children, the recommended dose of paracetamol depends on their weight.