Comic Strip: Rita Has Recurring Nasal Polyps

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Woman sitting in doctor’s office, blowing her nose as doctor walks in to greet her

Doctor: Hi Rita, It’s nice to see you — but I’m sorry to hear your polyps have been bothering you again.

Rita and doctor talking

Rita: I’m sorry, too. I really thought the surgery to remove them would fix things, but now I’m having symptoms again. Could the polyps be coming back?

Doctor: Unfortunately, yes. Up to 8 out of 10 people who have surgery to remove nasal polyps get them again.

Rita, looking upset

Rita: Really?! Why?

Doctor talking

Doctor: It has to do with something called type 2 inflammation.

Rita: What’s that? Doctor: A healthy immune system sends out type 2 immune cells to fight infection and allergens with inflammation, which kick-starts healing.

But sometimes a person’s immune system sends out those cells when there’s nothing to fight, so they attack healthy cells instead.

Doctor talking and Rita listening

Rita: So it’s kind of like your immune system is overreacting?

Doctor talking while Rita has a thought bubble of herself mowing the lawn (show a grasshopper in the corner - not extremely obvious)

Doctor: Exactly.

Rita: Ok, so I understand why that would cause the polyps, but why does that make them come back?

Doctor: Good question! Treating nasal polyps is sort of like mowing the lawn. You can cut the grass, but it can keep growing back because it’s being fertilized.

With nasal polyps, type 2 inflammation is the fertilizer that keeps them coming back — even after surgery.

Rita, looking interested

Rita: That makes sense, but where does that leave me? Is there anything I can do to treat the polyps and keep them from coming back?

Doctor talking and Rita listening

Doctor: There’s no guarantee. But there are things you can do to ease your symptoms and lower your chances that they’ll recur.

Rita: What are they? At this point, I’ll do anything.

Doctor: Well, rinsing with saline helps flush out irritants and unblocks your nose. And steroids in pill, spray or injectable form can temporarily bring down swelling and shrink polyps.

Doctor talking

Doctor: But, unfortunately, these things won’t keep polyps from coming back because they don’t get to the root cause.

Doctor and Rita talking at the same time as each other

Doctor touches his nose. Rita laughing.

Doctor shows Rita something on her computer screen (text reads “Biologics and nasal polyps” or something like that)

Rita and Doctor: Inflammation!

Doctor: To keep this chronic inflammation at bay, you may need a medicine called a biologic that works through your whole body, not just your nose.

Biologics target different types of inflammation, including type 2.

Rita, looking hopeful as doctor smiles

Rita: So that might keep them from coming back?

Doctor: And the student becomes the teacher, grasshopper!

Rita is mowing the lawn and the grasshopper is smiling.

This resource was created with support from Sanofi and Regeneron.