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Over-the-counter sleeping pills blamed for seizures, addiction and death of a 32 year-old...
after drugs are linked to dementia READ MORE: Medic warns diphenhydramine dramatically raises dementia risk By EMILY STEARN, SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE Published: 03:55 EDT, 2 April 2025 | Updated: 03:56 EDT, 2 April 2025 e-mail View comments Thousands may be hooked on over-the-counter sleeping tablets, taking them for months or even years at a time, experts have warned — amid growing concern long-term use increases the risk of a raft of serious health problems. Drugs containing diphenhydramine, an antihistamine that causes drowsiness, are widely available in pharmacies without a prescription. Yet mounting evidence suggests the medicines, widely believed to be a safer alternative to prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines, may be just as dangerous.
The news comes after numerous studies linked a list of drugs including diphenhydramine to increased risk of dementia. One shocking study, published in 2015 , tracked almost 3,500 older adults and found those on high levels of the tablets over a 10-year period had a 54 per cent higher dementia risk. Now doctors suggest the tablets — which include Nytol One-a-Night, Boots Sleepeaze and Panadol Night — taken in excess could even cause addiction, as well as seizures and comas.
Elsewhere, users online claim they have suffered disturbing hallucinations including 'seeing spiders' and 'felt like they were in a nightmare' after taking these drugs for long periods. And in one shocking a case, the death of a 32-year-old man with insomnia w as linked to Nytol use. Now doctors suggest the tablets — which include Nytol One-a-Night, Boots Sleepeaze and Panadol Night — taken in excess could even cause seizures and comas In one shocking a case, the death of a 32-year-old man who struggled to sleep after playing video games, was linked to Nytol use Grant Holding was taking prescribed medication to help him sleep, but when he couldn’t get his prescription he would ask friends and family to buy him the over-the-counter tablets Nytol.
After Mr Holding was found dead in his kitchen, a post-mortem and toxicology report revealed there was 6.6mg of diphenhydramine per litre of blood in his body. Previous case reports have found as little as 5mg per litre can prove fatal.
A pathologist told the inquest he could not determine whether Mr Holding died from a deliberate overdose, an accidental overdose or a build-up of the drug over time. The coroner concluded Mr Holding died in November 2011 as the result of a non-dependent abuse of drugs. Dr Ash Kapoor, founder of the London-based private medical practice Levitas Clinic, told MailOnline: 'Medications like diphenhydramine are not without consequence — particularly with long-term use.
'In the short term they can sometimes help with acute symptoms of insomnia, but it should always be taken with a clear plan to taper and address the root cause.' Nytol, available in 25mg and 50mg pills, should only be taken for a maximum period of two weeks, with one tablet taken within 24-hours, according to safety guidance on the patient information leaflet. But experts say too few people are aware of these restrictions.
Such are the power of some side effects, users of the medication have even taken to online forums to share their experience of diphenhydramine It comes as experts this week also issued a fresh warning over the medication and its dementia risk. Immunity and diet expert Dr Amy Shah, who was trained at Harvard, Cornell and Columbia universities, said: 'I know it's over-the-counter, I know you've had it since you were kid, but we know lot more now' Dr David Rapoport, a professor of pulmonary and sleep medicine at Mount Sinai in New York added: 'Diphenhydramine is very attractive to people because it's an over-the-counter medication. 'It's [seen as] a quick way to fix insomnia.
'But the body adapts to it, and may build up a tolerance within just two weeks. It tends to stop working. 'This means patients will need to take an increasingly higher dose to achieve the same effect, risking ever worse side effects.
' Diphenhydramine commonly causes drowsiness — hence its use as a sleep aid — but it also trigger numbness , dizziness and a dry mouth. While these are generally mild, they can pose a risk particularly among the elderly and in those with other health conditions. Other more severe side effects listed inside the medicine's patient information leaflet include fits or difficulty controlling movements and a faster heartbeat.
Overdoses risk comas and hallucinations. Meanwhile users of the medication have taken to online forums to share their experience of diphenhydramine. In one Reddit thread with over 600,000 members, one user wrote: ' I would take a pill and feel nothing, stay up all night and have a bad day the next day.
The above symptoms are less well known signs of dementia — the memory-robbing condition plaguing nearly one million Britons and seven million Americans 'So, I started to take two pills. Then three. One night, I took five pills all at once.
'It was the only way that I could get a good night's sleep. It was a decision I would soon regret. 'I started to feel drowsy, and became extremely forgetful.
I was mumbling to myself. 'My roommate said that I was talking nonsense. I don't remember much from that night, but I had horrifying dreams about spiders crawling around in my room.
' Another confessed they had become addicted to the drug taking multiple diphenhydramine tablets every single day. 'It became a crippling addiction, I haven't hallucinated the spiders but I hear that it's a common thing,' they added. 'Mostly I would slip into this weird dreamscape where there is no tomorrow.
' A third said they took diphenhydramine via over-the-counter Benadryl, an American allergy relief medication, for months after suffering a traumatic event. Around 900,000 Britons are thought to have dementia, but University College London scientists estimate this will rise to 1.7 million within two decades as people live longer 'One night, I took 12 tablets because I couldn’t sleep at all due to panic,' they said.
'I finally was able to get some sleep. But, once I woke up after a few hours, I started hallucinating where I felt and saw that I was underwater. 'My home was underwater.
And I started seeing fairies and spirals materializing in the environment.' It comes as experts this week also issued a fresh warning over the medication and its dementia risk. Immunity and diet expert Dr Amy Shah, who was trained at Harvard, Cornell and Columbia universities, said: 'I know it's over-the-counter, I know you've had it since you were kid, but we know lot more now.
'You should not be using these medications regularly. 'Even for allergies, use new antihistamines like Zirtec or Allegra [sold as Allevia in the UK], Clarityn, Zyzal, because they don't cross the blood brain barrier as much. 'I honestly could not be more convinced that this is something you should take out of your life.
' Read More Top US medic's urgent warning on medication taken by MILLIONS, as fears grow the tablets dramatically increase dementia risk Diphenhydramine is part of a family of drugs known as anticholinergics. These have long been known to block the action of acetylcholine, a chemical messenger that transmits messages in the nervous system. In the brain, acetylcholine is involved in learning and memory.
In the rest of the body, it stimulates muscle contractions. In December, a study of almost 1million British patients suggested some types of these medications can increase the risk of dementia by almost a fifth. British experts analysed the health records of just over 170,000 patients in England over the age of 55 with dementia and compared them to 800,000 patients without the memory robbing disorder.
Writing in the journal BMJ Medicine , the authors found taking an anticholinergic was linked to an 18 per cent increased risk of dementia diagnosis. However, they found the elevated risk to be slightly higher in men — 22 per cent, compared to women at 16 per cent. The pharmaceutical firms that make the medicines have been contacted for comment.
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