The answer is probably yes! According to a recent article on the Sydney Morning Herald website, “Millions of Australians are taking too many painkillers”. And some of these medications have quite serious side effects. Here are a few key quotes from the article:

• “taking higher doses of something like ibuprofen or aspirin, you’re at a higher risk of gastric bleeds, stomach ulcers and bad indigestion”
• “Paracetamol is actually really toxic once you get to certain doses, affecting people’s livers in ways that are not easily reversible, and people can die.”
• “Ibuprofen-codeine tablets, such as Nurofen Plus, are of particular concern because codeine may lead to dependency and increase the intake of ibuprofen, which in high amounts can damage the kidneys, stomach and liver.”