Many of us have spent time in a hospital for one reason or another.

My last stay of 3 days and 2 nights was in 2016. One of the things I recall is that every few hours, the nurses came into the room to check on me, take vitals, etc. like so many people, I felt more tired and fatigued from my stay in the hospital because they constantly interrupted the little sleep I got.

My daughter had brain surgery several weeks ago and spent a couple of nights in the hospital before being discharged. She had the same complaint about the nursing staff waking her up throughout the night and day. By the time she was discharged, she was very tired and exhausted from lack of sleep.

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. For those of you who haven’t had the same experience during a stay in the hospital, could it be that your night nurses were drugging you to make you sleep throughout the night in order to lessen their workload?

If you think this idea is unrealistic or ridiculous, then check out what happened at a hospital in new Jersey that has resulted in a lawsuit from one of the nursing staff:

A nurse in New Jersey is suing a hospital, claiming that she was taken off the schedule and eventually pushed out of her job on an adult psychiatry unit after she reported to higher-ups that some night-shift nurses were allegedly giving Benadryl to patients to make them sleep and not reporting their actions.

Patricia Moran, a registered nurse for more than 30 years at RWJ Barnabas Health, which owns Monmouth Medical Center, was hired in 1988 and worked on the adult involuntary psychiatric unit at the center.

In March 2019, her civil lawsuit claims, Moran suspected that some overnight nurses were allegedly using Benadryl to make patients drowsy or put them to sleep…

Moran’s complaint, which was filed in Monmouth County Superior Court on Wednesday, said that “on hospital adult units, Benadryl is almost exclusively prescribed to address side effects from psychotropic medication … such as restlessness, muscle cramping, and involuntary muscle contractions.”

I recall being prescribed Benadryl when I was a kid. Twice a year, I would develop a severe case of bronchitis. One new doctor first thought I had whooping cough because of the severity of my cough. The doctors gave me Benadryl in hopes that it would help relieve the cough or other symptoms I had.

Today, Benadryl, (diphenhydramine) is readily available over the counter. According to WebMD:

Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine used to relieve symptoms of allergy, hay fever, and the common cold. These symptoms include rash, itching, watery eyes, itchy eyes/nose/throat, cough, runny nose, and sneezing. It is also used to prevent and treat nausea, vomiting and dizziness caused by motion sickness. Diphenhydramine can also be used to help you relax and fall asleep. [emphasis mine]

If you or others who spent a night or more in your local hospital got a good night’s sleep, there just may be a reason – you could have been drugged with Benadryl to help you sleep so the night nurses would have it easy.