Sleepy chicken? FDA warns against cooking with NyQuil

Cooking chicken with NyQuil? It could only be a TikTok challenge. And it is.

The Food and Drug Administration warned recently that “the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine” should never be cooked with chicken.

The FDA officials posted the warning after the latest social media challenge has been making its rounds. Viral videos have shown people sautéing fillets with the over-the-counter cold medicine, but the FDA says the practice should be brought to a halt.

“The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing — and it is,” the FDA posted on its website. “But it could also be very unsafe. Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways.

“Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs.”

????️ Don't cook chicken in NyQuil ????️

That's what the FDA is warning people after a recent social media trend. Yes, really. pic.twitter.com/U3pLelJTLC

— The Recount (@therecount) September 20, 2022

Videos with the #sleepychicken tag took in more than a million views Tuesday along with trending at No. 1 on Twitter, USA Today reported.

“Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it,” the FDA warning explains.

The @US_FDA is warning against a social media challenge which involves people coating their poultry in NyQuil—the “NyQuil Chicken Challenge”, warning it could have very dangerous outcomes — not just if ingested but from cooking process.

Oh c’mon people. https://t.co/JjjR8Vjkye pic.twitter.com/tE0XIzILY6

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) September 20, 2022