TikTok users are cooking chicken in cough syrup to 'cure colds' and doctors aren't happy

Being stupid on the internet is contagious. And now, doctors have warned against yet another crazy new 'wellness' trend on TikTok that sees users cooking chicken in cough syrup.

The bizarre – and not to mention, dangerous – 'sleepy chicken' recipe encourages people to cook chicken portions in pots filled with cough syrup.

The entire process is as disgusting as it sounds.

People falsely claim the sickly green coloured chicken can cure cold and sickness symptoms. Now, as much as we'd like to believe it is satire, experts are incredibly alarmed that people will stupidly mimic the recipe.

Dr Aaron Hartman, a physician and assistant clinical professor of family medicine told MIC.com the method could likely lead to food poisoning, if not worse.

"When you cook cough medicine like NyQuil, you boil off the water and alcohol in it, leaving the chicken saturated with a super concentrated amount of drugs in the meat," Dr Hartman said.

"If you ate one of those cutlets completely cooked, it’d be as if you’re actually consuming a quarter to half a bottle of NyQuil."

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For more information, check out the NyQuil Chicken entry on Know Your Meme! #nyquil #chicken #sleepychicken #donotattempt #knowyourmeme #nyquilchickn #nyquilpm #cursedimages #youtube

For more information, check out the NyQuil Chicken entry on Know Your Meme! #nyquil #chicken #sleepychicken #donotattempt #knowyourmeme #nyquilchickn #nyquilpm #cursedimages #youtube

While the since-deleted clip appeared to have been a joke – or at least, we hope, this is not the first time 'NyQuil chicken' has made the rounds on social media.

US host Jimmy Fallon joked about the strange recipe on his Tonight Show with his own satirical take. He joked:

"Wake up face-down in plate four hours later,

"Stumble into garage, drive car straight through garage door,

"Drive to Taco Bell on wrong side of the road going 3 miles per hour,

"Remove shirt, demand eggplant parm and a Twinkie."

Let's face it, you probably don't need a doctor to tell you the new 'trend' is a bad idea.