The August 2012 edition of the consumer magazine,Which, carried a short article about "Pricey Painkillers exposed" naming an Advertising Standards Authority ruling on a TV advert for a "Pricey Painkiller" called Nuromol, Nuromol being a combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol combined in a branded product. Unsurprisingly Nuromol doesn't work significantly better than the recommended dose of ibuprofen, which was at odds with what the advert claimed. So the manufacturer took the ad a bit too far and got slapped down...fair enough.

But the article also stated "If you want to combine paracetamol and ibuprofen (taking care not to exceed the safe dosage), buy unbranded tablets. The painkillers work in different ways, with the former recommended as the pain relief to try first."

All of the painkillers pictured in the article were cheap, including Nuromol (at £3.99 for 12): You'd only end up paying a lot of money if you were on long-term treatment, but I doubt that any healthcare professional would recommend Nuromol for long-term pain relief.

I thought the wording of Which's recommendation "If you want to combine paracetamol and ibuprofen..." was interesting though: Whether you are talking about human or veterinary medicines, you only know if a drug combination is safe and effective if you've actually tested it, and if you need to do something else then strictly someone who is qualified to do so needs to take a look at you and see if that combination is right for you. When you combine a product in that way and make it an OTC medicine the Product or Patient Information Leaflet in the pack tells you what you can and can't do with it. Probably I'd buy the ibuprofen...but £3.99 didn't seem that dear to me for what would probably be an occasional purchase.