Caregiver Resources

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Lori - Mom: Nobody prepares you for this. Right? We were lucky to have a great healthcare provider who trained us on the injection process, including how much to inject and how often.

Wendy - Grandmother: It's definitely been a learning curve, learning how to administer an injection to my granddaughter.

Rahmel - Father: I was a little overwhelmed in the beginning, but I found being calm is super important. My daughter Kia and I practice ways to keep calm. We like taking deep, long breaths together before we start.

Deantre - Healthcare Professional: I always told parents just to have a plan because kids pick up on your nervousness. If you're calm, they're calm.

Amanda - Healthcare Professional: That's for sure. A lot of kids do well with a little calm chit chat, but others could benefit from other activities. So you want to have a few options ready ahead of time.

Lori - Mom: I tried all sorts of things before we got into a comfortable routine. Distractions with toys, holding an ice cube to the injection site and having him get involved in the process like getting a cotton ball or an alcohol wipe. I've learned the best distraction is other family members. His older sister tells the best jokes.

Wendy - Grandmother: And it can change as they get older. My granddaughter, Emma, didn't want anything to do with the pre injection process when she was younger. But now, helping out really gives her a sense of control. She gets the alcohol swabs and I get the medication from the fridge.

Deantre - Healthcare Professional: Where and when you administer the injection is important as well.

Lori - Mom: Exactly. Eventually, we found doing the injection at the kitchen table allowed us to maintain Austin's bedroom and playroom as play spaces. I don't know why it worked, but we just stuck with it.

Amanda - Healthcare Professional: Well, the kitchen is the heart of the home.

Lori - Mom: Yeah. Maybe that's why.

Rahmel - Father: It's because the cookies are closer.

Lori - Mom: Yes. I can just grab one. Yeah.

Deantre - Healthcare Professional: One thing I also tell parents to patients is practice patience, because you got to realize that these are young people that we're dealing with.

Christine - Healthcare Professional: I always like to give as many options as possible and just trying to get them involved in the process so they have some control of something that they have no control over really.

Wendy - Grandmother: Yeah. A lot of times I would say, "Do you want to do this before breakfast or after dinner?"

Christine - Healthcare Professional: Right.

Wendy - Grandmother: And giving them that choice of the time of day. I'm finally comfortable giving the injections. But my granddaughter, Emma, is such a trooper sometimes I forget she's still just a little girl and she could use some reassurance.

Amanda - Healthcare Professional: Always remember, uncertainty can cause anxiety. I always tell parents and caregivers a little encouragement and understanding goes a long way.

Deantre - Healthcare Professional: Look, when it comes to the actual injection, your physical technique is important. Leg and arm hold methods are simple to learn and reduce squirming. Don't forget to refer to any instructions for use before any injection, for additional information and to use as a reference.

Christine - Healthcare Professional: And there's so many options out there now. You can numb with an ice cube. They have devices that divert pain signals, it like vibrates on your arm so they don't feel the injection so much. They have numbing creams, numbing sprays.

Christine - Healthcare Professional: There's so many things and every child is going to want something different. Some don't want anything at all.

Lori - Mom: Yes.

Wendy - Grandmother: Yeah. My granddaughter's really into the imagination type style, so it always involved her stuffed animals and unicorns and the fake shot injection. And it's like, Okay, if I'm getting this, then so is Panda, so is Uni. It was like, Okay, well who's going first and it just created almost like a magical land for her and she just really seemed to enjoy it more.

Rahmel - Father: At first, simply explaining what I was doing and how the treatment was going to help calmed my daughter down. She's really into taking an active role in managing her condition.

Christine - Healthcare Professional: One thing I would suggest is to let your child's likes lead the way. If they like music, sing a song with them while giving the injection. If they like stories, have them read one to you or read one to them.

Lori - Mom: Great point. Our son loves superheroes, so I made up a superhero. His name is Flash Bang.

Deantre - Healthcare Professional: Flash Bang.

Lori - Mom: And I tell him a two-minute story when I give the injection. Now he looks forward to new episodes so much. He reminds me as we get ready, which makes everything easier.

Wendy - Grandmother: The basics work for us, the calm chit chat, and then using toys and screens as a distraction.

Deantre - Healthcare Professional: You know what? Parents have an advantage. When we work with young patients, we have to earn their trust. You guys already have it. Be calm, confident, positive as you give the injection, eventually it'll become routine.

Lori - Mom: We use screen time as a reward. It helps make it a positive experience and gives them something to look forward to after the injection.

Christine - Healthcare Professional: Rewards after the injection are a great idea.

Wendy - Grandmother: Yes. It was important for me to get to know Emma's likes and dislikes. It's tough though because they changed so often. One day, bringing her giant stuffed panda into the room worked like a charm and the next it didn't. Sparkly stars and unicorn stickers though, that's where we're at now.

Rahmel - Father: We're all so busy with work and school schedules, we make the reward all about spending time together with a game or movie night and she gets to pick the game or movie. She beat me last time too.

Amanda - Healthcare Professional: Don't let yourself get too stressed out about the reward thing. I have a lot of little patients that react to very simple stuff. New, fun bandaids, extra hugs, sometimes simple is best.

Lori - Mom: Throwing in a few sweets never hurts. I like to mix up the rewards that way he's looking forward to finding out what the next reward will be. It makes it feel like a celebration.

Rahmel - Father: I mean, this has definitely been great sharing this experience with the other caregivers.

Lori - Mom: Yes, so helpful.

Rahmel - Father: Especially healthcare professionals, you guys have just made this process so much easier. So many new tools for my toolbox that'll make this whole process much better.

Lori - Mom: I'm glad we were able to get together and do this for them.

Important Safety
Information and Indication

Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.

Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:

• have a parasitic (helminth) infection
• are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a "live vaccine" right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
  • A pregnancy registry for women who take DUPIXENT during pregnancy collects information about the health of you and your baby. To enroll or get more information call 1-877-311-8972 or go to https://mothertobaby.org/ongoing-study/dupixent/.
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines or use an asthma medicine. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.

DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:

• Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
• Inflammation of your blood vessels. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
• Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.

The most common side effects in patients with asthma include injection site reactions, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and parasitic (helminth) infections.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children 6 to less than 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.

Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.

Indication

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.