Favorite reader feedback of the week

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

I enjoyed reading all your comments this week and seeing how actively you participated in our online polls. More than 6,000 of you weighed in on your kids’ sleep habits after reading the weekly challenge, and I was surprised to see that nearly half of you reported that your kids are usually sleep deprived. (Read the challenge for my tip on how to tell.)

EACB wrote: It’s not as simple as putting children to bed earlier so they can wake up on their own on school days. Studies show that teenagers are biologically programmed for late to bed and late to rise. The school day needs to be adjusted for teens.

OneTwoThreeFour wrote: Our 4, 6, and 7 year olds fight and battle to avoid going to bed at 8:30 every night. Then, on the weekends -- no matter how late they were awake the night before, they are up at 7 am dragging us out of bed or going into the fridge to get breakfast. On weekdays, however, if left to their own, they are still not up at 8 am or later, and we are dragging them out of bed to get them to school.

I can sympathize with these frustrations since my own teen struggles to get up in the morning and is wide awake every night at midnight. And, yes, my younger sons love to wake up early on the weekends -- but never for school during the week.

Many of you weighed in on a new study finding “hidden” arsenic in foods containing organic brown rice syrup as a sweetener, including toddler formulas, cereal bars, and energy shots. Some of you wondered how the arsenic is hidden if researchers were able to measure it. What I meant was the arsenic was hidden from public knowledge since consumers weren’t previously aware that brown rice syrup contained arsenic. Some of you also thought manufacturers were intentionally putting arsenic in these products; they’re not, arsenic leaches from the soil into brown rice and gets concentrated when water is removed in a brown rice product such as syrup.

You also expressed some serious doubts about a study showing that antibiotics don’t work for most sinus infections. The researchers found that the drugs didn’t clear up symptoms any faster than placebos, but many of you who commented said that in your experience, antibiotics were the only cure.

phonyuser wrote: They need to find some doctors who suffer from chronic sinus infections and get their recommendations. I’m certain none of them will want to wait more than the current waiting period of seven days. Those with chronic problems have been through this cycle many times and know what works -- regardless of a generalized study.

Arizpatsfan wrote: I just finished my ten day cycle of amoxicillin for a sinus infection and I was feeling better after just two pills.

nathanbrand wrote: “Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen can help ease facial discomfort and reduce inflammation....” People who say things like this have never suffered the debilitating effects of sinus infections: it’s nothing like a cold, and can linger on for weeks, even months, if not treated with antibiotics.

For the record, nathanbrand, I have had sinus infections and know that they’re no fun. But I’ve also had side effects from antibiotics and don’t want to take them if they aren’t going to work.

Deborah Kotz can be reached at dkotz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @debkotz2.