Health experts warn against doing the TikTok 'sleepy chicken' dish as it could kill you

American health authorities have raised a big alarm over a dangerous dish that had been posted on social media this year.

Videos started popping up on TikTok showing people using cough syrup Vick’s NyQuil instead of oil to cook chicken.

Several people hopped on the 'trend' because that's the way TikTok goes these days.

However, the American Food and Drug Administration has now spoken out and warned people to avoid this like the plague.

“One social media trend relying on peer pressure is online video clips of people misusing nonprescription medications and encouraging viewers to do so too," the FDA said.

“These video challenges, which often target youths, can harm people — and even cause death.”

NyQuil contains acetaminophen, dextromethorphan and doxylamine and is designed to give people relief from nighttime symptoms of cold, flu and coughs.

It's certainly not your backup option for cooking oil.

The FDA added that even if you don't eat the chicken that has been cooked in the blue-green-looking medication, it can still cause the chef serious harm.

When you chuck liquid on a hot pan it can be vaporised and that's when things can get messy.

“Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways,” the authority said.

“Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapours while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body.

“It could also hurt your lungs. Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realising it.”

Buzzfeed News says NyQuil Chicken has been around for half a decade.

A person on Twitter posted a photo of the infamous chook dish to Twitter in 2017 alongside a caption 'if she makes you NyQuil chicken.... do NOT let her go'.

A spokesperson for TikTok told Buzzfeed that 'sleepy chicken' hasn't been a 'trend' per se and that users who search for the term get redirected to a warning about viral challenges.

TikTok encourages people to stop, think, decide and act when it comes to online challenges or trends.

"If you see something worrying or distressing, such as a potentially harmful challenge or hoax, stop and take a moment to think about what you've seen," TikTok says.

The platform adds that if you are worried about replicating a viral moment then talk to someone to see if it's a good idea.

Topics: Viral, Food And Drink

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

@stewartperrie