Are over-the-counter painkillers doing you more harm than good?

A third of young Brits take an over-the-counter painkiller on a daily basis, it's been revealed.

It seems the most common pain complaint is a tension headache and a third of us only put up with pain for just 20 minutes before reaching for a pack of paracetamol or ibuprofen.

But though they're common and widely available,what do we really know about these drugs and the effects of taking them?

Mel Smith, who died last weekend from a heart attack, famously opened up about his struggle with addiction to the over-the-counter painkiller Nurofen Plus, admitting he took up to 50 a day.

Most people's use would pale significantly in comparison, but regularly taking pain medication for any and every twinge is a worry for doctors, especially as these drugs are not side-effect free.

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Manoj Krishna, consultant orthopaedic and spine surgeon at Nuffield hospital, Tees, who led a recent campaign against painkiller abuse, explains: "It’s unusual for people to need regular painkillers so if you feel you need them regularly you need to speak to your GP and look at the underlying causes.

"People underestimate the risks of taking painkillers long term and also the side effects."

He adds: "Taking painkillers just treats the symptom - often the actual problem hasn’t been diagnosed.

"Take back pain, you might think it's a simple back ache and it's OK to take painkillers for a few days once in a while. But if it carries on you need to get a diagnosis to treat the underlying problem."

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Paracetamol can be very damaging to the liver when taken over a long period of time and particularly with alcohol. And ibuprofen has been linked to heart and kidney failure, as well as stomach ulcers.

Mr Krishna also urges people regularly taking these painkillers to look at their lifestyle for contributing factors to their pain. In the survey by Tiger Balm, 41 per cent of those polled felt that this generation is the most stressed ever, leading to tension headaches and pain.

"There are a lot of lifestyle issues that contribute to pain - hydration, amount of sleep, exercise, eating the right food. And then there's stress, which is a big issue.

"Tackling this with a mindfulness course, yoga or meditation can help. After that if you're still in pain, you need to talk to your GP and get an understanding of your situation so you can look at other treatment options - physio, acupuncture, osteopathy. In severe cases surgery may be necessary."