VIP
Mixed evidenceA natural peptide your body already makes — with a real approved use and a long string of claims that never made it to trial.
What it is
VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) is a 28-amino-acid message your body makes in the gut, lungs, and nerves. It widens blood vessels and relaxes muscle in airway and gut walls. A synthetic version exists, and it has one genuinely approved use plus several popular but untested ones.
How it works
VIP relaxes smooth muscle, which is why it widens vessels and opens airways. It also shifts immune cells toward a calmer, regulatory state in animal and cell work. That anti-inflammatory story is the basis for most of its current interest, though it is mostly bench science.
What people report
- ✦Approved for erectile dysfunction by injection in combination with another drug
- ✦Well-studied infusion pharmacology over five decades
- ✦A plausible anti-inflammatory story supported by animal and cell work
- ✦Popular for the lung and 'mold illness' communities, though untested there
Typical use
For its approved ED use, it is given by injection as needed. The popular intranasal anti-inflammatory use has no trial protocol at all.
Dosing reference
Approved ED dosing is established, but the intranasal anti-inflammatory use has never been tested in a registered trial. Verify before any non-standard use.
Reference only — not a recommendation. Verify via primary sources.
Watch for
The big COVID respiratory-failure claim came from a secondary endpoint in a study that missed its primary; pooled randomized data shows no survival benefit. The popular intranasal use is untested, not proven.
Educational content — not medical advice.