Paradoxical reaction to Benadryl?

Nurses Medications

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Out of curiosity, individuals that tend to have a paradoxical reaction to Benadryl where is makes them hyper instead of sedate them...

is there one route of administration that tends to give that reaction more than others?

If a patient has that reaction, does that mean they can't receive benadryl again?

Is it a random occurrence or will it happen everytime that person takes that benadryl?

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Had a PICU patient one do the paradoxical reaction to benadryl (the only med we'd given). All I have to say is thank goodness for cage cribs! He was wild all night long.

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

Hmmmm, this paradoxical reaction reminds me of a few people I've known who can drink a big cup of coffee and go right to sleep. :dead:

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I'm going to say as per route of administration...the reaction might be delayed depending on absorption time but I know personally almost all antihistamines and things like phenergan/compazine make me want to just come out of my skin, tear my muscles out (gross yes)...like other posters, it's restless legs but all over the body! If one route does it, I wouldn't even attempt another bc you never know if subsequent reactions will be worse.

I'm curious to know if y'all that have paradoxical reactions to things like benadryl, are there other med classes that do the same? For me, unless it's honest to goodness anesthesia, anything that's supposed to be sedating can keep me up and focused for days! Now I'm super curious to know the shared physiology behind this phenomenon!

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BittyBabyGrower said:
It wires me too! I used to take it to sleep when I worked nocs and then all of a sudden I had restless legs and it felt like my skin wanted to crawl off my body. No more for this gal!

age related. females particularly, nearing 60 need to be aware that this can happen.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.

Benadryl and Allegra have their desired effects on me- Claritin made me crazy and hyperactive as a git for the few months I was on it. I could not focus AT ALL, could not remember anything, etcl. Coincidentally switched to Allegra and it was like the cobwebs were cleaned out of my brain.

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Horseshoe said:
Okay, this is fascinating. Two weeks ago, I ended up in the ER. I was at my lake house out in the middle of nowhere and got up for water in the middle of the night. I started having some very scary palpitations that wouldn't stop. The first thing I did was chew an aspirin. Then I took my BP. It was 189/114, and heart rate was 140. I popped a Lisinopril and my husband put me in the car and headed for the hospital (1hour away). I kept trying the val salva maneuver, and about 45 minutes into the drive, I felt my heart rhythm convert. We went ahead and checked into the ER, where my first EKG showed sinus tach, and a few hours later, the second one showed sinus. The doc said she was guessing I'd been in PSVT.

What had I done differently that day: I had 3 cups of coffee instead of my normal one. And I had taken Benadryl to help me sleep as a result of the caffeine.

I've taken Benadryl MANY MANY times to help me sleep. I wonder if the caffeine + Benadryl was the problem. Hmmmm....

totally off topic, but, a curious mind is a wonderful thing.

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JustBeachyNurse said:
There are numerous other antihistamines not chemically related to Benadryl/diphenhydramine.

Please give some examples.

Another issue - I'm not sure it's always the med itself that someone is allergic to or reacting badly to.

There are so many darned excipients in meds, even in liquids, that it seems impossible to know what is really causing the itch, SOB, hives, personality changes, etc.

And, not an expert on allergy here, but I think there is sometimes a delayed reaction. Sometimes, a person takes a med for a week, then develops say SOB bad enough to need Albuterol and low-grade itching, and it dawns on you that this could be an allergic reaction.

So darned many generic companies, very hard to know what the real ingredients are that are causing the problem.

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OscarTheOwl said:
I have the weirdest reaction to benadryl. If I take it and fall asleep within 2 hours I'm good, but if for whatever reason I can't fall asleep, I get that restless feeling. I never knew other people got this! I knew about the hyper effect. Also it feels more like restless body syndrome, I feel like I need to stretch and flex all my muscles. Also I've noticed palpitations and not really a hyper feeling per say but more of a strung out I'm never going to sleep again kind of feeling. I can actually deal with most of it but the restless body thing makes me want to chop all my limbs off.

I've only had IV benadryl once and don't remember anything abnormal.

What was the po dose?

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morte said:
totally off topic, but, a curious mind is a wonderful thing.

Benadryl makes my heart SERIOUSLY pound - as if it were going to break out of my rib cage and make a run for it. It's horrible. And it does appear to be related to how much coffee I drink, but I can't say for sure. Trazadone does it too - with and without coffee and independent of dose. Miserable stuff (for me). Sometimes with benadryl, if I take more (I know- stupid!!) then I'll sleep but my heart still pounds. I feel like it's pounding so hard it's sending shock waves through my body - like you can see my legs, arms, skin all shake.

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