Doctors have drawn up a list of 40 treatments they say are of little or no use.

It is part of a campaign to cut down on unnecessary procedures with the warning that "more doesn't always mean better".

Tips include using tap water to clean up cuts and grazes is just as good as saline solution and a plaster cast is not always needed for children's wrist fractures.

Another example is that X-rays do not help deal with lower back pain if there are no other concerning features.

And women over 45 do not need a blood test to be diagnosed with menopause.

Lower back pain, prostate condition and terminal cancer are also among the wide-ranging ailments also touched upon in this first wave of recommendations.

It comes after 82% of doctors said they had prescribed or carried out a treatment which they knew to be unnecessary in a study carried out last year.

The Choosing Wisely UK website aims to cut down on over-medicalisation and give pointers to doctors and patients on how to treat health-relate issues.

Patients should ask about the risks or downsides, the possible side effects, if there simpler or safer options, and "what will happen if I do nothing?".

The advice also notes that chemotherapy may be used to relieve terminal cancer symptoms, but it can also be painful, cannot cure the disease and may well bring further distress in the final months of life.

Adrienne Betteley of Macmillan Cancer Support said: "It is vital patients are as well-informed as possible to help them make decisions around their treatment."