this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
537 points (98.7% liked)

196

16732 readers
2791 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.

Rule: You must post before you leave.

^other^ ^rules^

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
537
Benadrule (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] GonzoVeritas 57 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Not so fun fact: Benadryl™ and similar drugs have been linked to dementia in older patients. I found this out when my doc told me to quit taking it as a sleep aid.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-201501287667

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah a lot of the Benadryl memes out there are about dementia.

[–] camr_on 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Jesus christ I don't think I've ever had a meme make me more uncomfortable than this one

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

There's a bunch of them in the wild

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Really? Okay, have some more

[–] charliespider 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

No, Benadryl has not been (directly) linked to dementia, but it is classified as an anticholinergic drug, and those HAVE been linked to dementia. So not Benadryl, but the group it is classified under. That group of drugs also includes some extremely powerful antipsychotic medications (EDIT: sorry, anticholinergic drugs are often prescribed along side antipsychotic medications), so it's kinda like lumping a Nerf gun in with assault rifles. As well, sleep deprivation has also been linked to dementia and people will take Benadryl as a sleep aid (as you know), so any connection there might be ancillary. Your doctor's advice sounds like it is just precautionary, which is good, but may turn out to be unfounded. Bottom line is that it needs to be studied more as there currently isn't enough solid data about the subject.