Danger With Benadryl of Self Medication and Large Dosage

Slater and Francis recently reported the use of Benadryl (beta-dimethylaminoethyl benzohydryl ether hydrochloride) as a contributing cause of an accident.1They called attention to the frequency of drowsiness as a side action of the drug. The following report of a case illustrates the danger of self medication and large dosage. REPORT OF CASE A convent nun, aged 18, had been under my care for a year because of obesity and menstrual difficulties. She had had attacks of asthma since childhood, which were worse in ragweed season and early winter than during the rest of the year. She was given a prescription for forty-eight 50 mg. capsules of Benadryl. At the convent she was allowed to keep the medicament in her own room. She took two of the capsules, as prescribed, the first day, with decided relief. She felt so much improved that the next day she decided to take