Right at 8 p.m. Wednes-day, my cerebral region was taken hostage by a headache of monstrous proportions -- the type of headache that progressively gets worse until its victim ultimately succumbs and reaches for their headache-panacea of choice.

So I popped two pills of ibuprofen and waited for the miracle drug to take effect. An hour later my headache had nearly withdrawn, and I tallied one more victory for Motrin, a girl's best friend and most trusted standby.

But once the headache began to subside and I regained use of my motor skills, I came to the realization that relieving my killer headache by reaching for the bottle of pills was more of an instinctual behavior than a conscious decision.

Pursuing another course of action didn't even cross my mind.

Every painful fiber in my body tells me to grab the bottle of Motrin anytime I have any sort of an ache or pain. And my dependence on over-the-counter treatment carries over to all the other ailments that plague an immune system-lacking, walking germ like myself.

Robitussin for coughing. Tylenol PM for insomnia. Chlortrimetron for allergies. And, of course, Midol for that oh-so-special time of the month.

Judging by the billions of dollars consumers spend on pharmaceutical products every year, something tells me I'm not alone in my obsession with gel caps and cherry-flavored goodness.

But a recent report by the Associated Press suggests that our reliance on over-the-counter medications, specifically cough syrup, might be motivated more by psychological habit than actual physical relief.

According to Dr. Richard Irwin, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, there is little evidence to back up the claim that over-the-counter cough medicines actually relieve cold symptoms.

In fact, Irwin -- and the entire cough guidelines committee for the American College of Chest Physicians that he chairs -- actually discourage the use of these drugs in their cough treatment guidelines published in the January issue of Chest: The Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care Journal.

The committee's reasoning: Many cough syrups -- specifically ones that claim not to cause drowsiness -- do not contain enough antihistamines to effectively relieve coughing.

Naturally, spokespeople within the industry have disputed the claims, saying that millions of customers wouldn't continue to buy their products if they didn't work.

I suppose that makes sense.

And yet it seems there is also a case for the possibility that an industry as rich and powerful as the pharmaceutical industry could spend enough money on advertising techniques to convince the public that these treatments work.

Can I prove the effectiveness of pharmaceutical advertising on consumers? Not a chance.

But I've seen enough Viagra commercials to know exactly where to go if I ever have any penile dysfunction of my own.

Certainly there's been many incredible medical advances over the years that are helping the medical world become better at helping people deal with both everyday and not-so-everyday ailments.

I just can't help but wonder if many of us are wasting our time and hard-earned money trusting that all over-the-counter medications will both safely and effectively relieve whatever symptom we happen to be suffering from.

Ah, what a headache.