Benadryl and Squamous cell carcinoma - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Squamous cell carcinoma is reported as a side effect among people who take Benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride), especially for people who are male, 60+ old, have been taking the drug for 1 - 6 months also take Tylenol, and have Polymyositis.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people have Squamous cell carcinoma when taking Benadryl. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 100,139 people who have side effects when taking Benadryl from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Benadryl?

Benadryl has active ingredients of diphenhydramine hydrochloride. It is often used in allergies. eHealthMe is studying from 104,956 Benadryl users. Check the latest studies of Benadryl.

What is Squamous cell carcinoma?

Squamous cell carcinoma (a cancer of a kind of epithelial cell) is found to be associated with 812 drugs and 897 conditions by eHealthMe. Check the latest studies of Squamous cell carcinoma.

eHealthMe: drug outcomes in the real world

eHealthMe runs one of the largest post-marketing drug safety studies in the world. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Our data-driven phase IV clinical trials have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Tools to study our phase IV findings are available to the public, anonymous and free >>>.

On Sep, 01, 2026

100,139 people reported to have side effects when taking Benadryl.
Among them, 97 people (0.1%) have Squamous cell carcinoma.

Could Benadryl cause Squamous cell carcinoma?

Among these 97 people:

How long have people been on Benadryl when they have Squamous cell carcinoma? *

What is the gender of people who have Squamous cell carcinoma when taking Benadryl? *

female: 45.95 %
male: 54.05 %

What is the age of people who have Squamous cell carcinoma when taking Benadryl? *

What are other drugs people take besides Benadryl? *

What are other side effects people have besides Squamous cell carcinoma? *

Fatigue (feeling of tiredness): 40 people, 41.24%
Weakness: 30 people, 30.93%
Headache (pain in head): 25 people, 25.77%
Fall: 25 people, 25.77%
Nausea (feeling of having an urge to vomit): 21 people, 21.65%
Thrombocytopenia (decrease of platelets in blood): 21 people, 21.65%
Injection Site Extravasation (flow of (blood or lymph) from injection site): 17 people, 17.53%
Blood Pressure Fluctuation: 17 people, 17.53%
Heart Rate Decreased: 17 people, 17.53%
Sinus Disorder (disease of sinus): 16 people, 16.49%

What are the existing conditions these people have? *

Polymyositis (inflammatory muscle disease that causes weakness of the skeletal muscles): 17 people, 17.53%
Rheumatoid Arthritis (a chronic progressive disease causing inflammation in the joints): 16 people, 16.49%
High Blood Pressure: 11 people, 11.34%
Polycythaemia Vera (blood disorder in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells): 8 people, 8.25%
Nausea (feeling of having an urge to vomit): 6 people, 6.19%
Pain: 6 people, 6.19%
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell)): 6 people, 6.19%
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (a condition in which stomach contents leak backward from the stomach into the oesophagus): 5 people, 5.15%
Anaemia (lack of blood): 5 people, 5.15%
Mantle Cell Lymphoma (cancer of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell): 4 people, 4.12%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Do you take Benadryl and have Squamous cell carcinoma?

- Check whether Squamous cell carcinoma is associated with a drug or a condition
- Predict drug outcomes for up to one year with AI
- Get an AI agent to monitor your drugs continuously

Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Benadryl:

Benadryl (104,956 reports)

Browse all side effects of Benadryl:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Squamous cell carcinoma:

Squamous cell carcinoma (812 drugs)

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Squamous cell carcinoma:

Squamous cell carcinoma (897 conditions)

How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on diphenhydramine hydrochloride (the active ingredients of Benadryl) and Benadryl (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.