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    ⚠ Deliriants can cause frightening, uncontrollable hallucinations and dangerous behavior. Medical emergencies are common at higher doses.
    ⚠ Diphenhydramine at high doses causes anticholinergic delirium with terrifying hallucinations, seizure risk, and cardiac complications. Recreational use is strongly discouraged.

    Diphenhydramine

    Aliases: Dph, Nytol, Sominex, Zzzquil, Benylin, benadryl

    Depressant Psychedelic Deliriant

    Summary TheDrug.Wiki Erowid TripSit PsychonautWiki

    Diphenhydramine (also known as DPH, Dimedrol, Benadryl, and many others) is a deliriant substance of the ethanolamine class. It is a first-generation H1 antihistamine that is widely used as a generic, over-the-counter medication to treat allergies. When exceeding approved doses, diphenhydramine produces powerful deliriant effects.

    Dose Information TheDrug.Wiki TripSit PsychonautWiki

    ROA Light Common Strong Heavy
    Oral BA 40-60% 100-200mg 200-400mg 400-700mg 700mg+
    Light Common Strong Heavy

    Onset, Duration & After-effects TheDrug.Wiki TripSit PsychonautWiki

    ROA Onset Comeup Peak Offset After Effects Total
    Oral 30-90 min 30-90 min 1-4 hrs 2-6 hrs 24-24 hrs 4-13 hrs

    Effect Profile

    444 reports

    Scores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:

    • Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
    • Validated against 363 Erowid trip reports
    • Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)

    Full methodology

    Psychedelic 7.0
    Strong+ 7/10

    Strong visuals, auditory effects, and body load with mild headspace

    Visual Intensity ×3
    10
    external hallucinations internal hallucinations autonomous entities drifting after images
    Headspace Depth ×3
    5
    perspective alterations confusion time distortion
    Auditory Effects ×1
    10
    auditory hallucinations auditory hallucination auditory suppression
    ⚠ Body Load / Somatic Effects ×1
    9
    nausea muscle spasms increased heart rate
    Based on reports from:
    Effect Index Nightmares in Eiriel Effect Index I Slept for 27 Hours Erowid Experience Reports PsychonautWiki Diphenhydramine
    View methodology →

    Tolerance

    Build-up develops within days of regular use; anticholinergic tolerance distinct from antihistamine tolerance
    Reset 3–7 days for acute tolerance

    Tolerance Decay

    Full tolerance 1d Half tolerance 10d Baseline ~18d

    Cross-Tolerances

    Doxylamine
    30%
    Hydroxyzine
    30%

    Effects Erowid Bluelight

    Aggregated from 363 Erowid and 81 Bluelight experience reports

    Positive Effects 28

    Sedation 46.5% 90%
    Anxiety Suppression 46.2% 84%
    Stimulation 33.9% 70%
    Vivid Dreams 30.0% 86%
    Music Enhancement 23.2% 88%
    Euphoria 20.6% 83%
    Color Enhancement 19.9% 79%
    Focus Enhancement 19.6% 70%
    Empathy 15.7% 70%
    Contentment 12.0% 76%
    Awe 10.0% 70%
    Drowsiness 6.0% 85%
    Geometric Imagery 4.0% 85%
    Warping 4.0% 80%
    Lightness 4.0% 80%
    Emotional Openness 4.0% 68%
    Creativity Enhancement 2.2% 70%
    Muscle Relaxation 2.0% 75%
    Hypersomnia 2.0% 80%
    Perceived Size Change 2.0% 85%

    Adverse Effects 90

    Entity Imagery 62.0% 87%
    Heaviness 46.0% 87%
    Body Load 42.0% 82%
    Fear 40.0% 89%
    Auditory Effects 35.8% 86%
    Visual Distortions 34.1% 89%
    Confusion 32.5% 89%
    Open-Eye Visuals 31.4% 86%
    Thought Disorganization 30.0% 84%
    Ataxia 30.0% 86%
    Dry Mouth 30.0% 83%
    Memory Suppression 24.5% 89%
    Depersonalization 24.0% 78%
    Amnesia 24.0% 88%
    Nausea 21.8% 84%
    Panic 20.0% 88%
    Motor Impairment 18.4% 86%
    Tremor 18.0% 83%
    Frequent Urination 16.0% 81%
    Dissociation 14.3% 85%

    Combinations TripSit

    Trip Reports Effect Index

    Nightmares in Eiriel Sedric Lightbury I Slept for 27 Hours Julie

    Pill Identifiers

    25 known pill identifiers on record — view imprints, colors, shapes, and images
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    Diphenhydramine's nerd page Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more
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    Helpful Links

    💊 Pill Identifier 📘 Experience Reports 📖 TheDrug.Wiki 📖 TripSit 📖 PsychonautWiki