VIP (Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide) Dosage Guide: Routes, Reconstitution and Safety

VIP, vasoactive intestinal peptide, is a naturally occurring 28-amino-acid signaling molecule produced in the gut, brain, and lungs, where it relaxes smooth muscle, widens blood vessels, and is studied for anti-inflammatory signaling. It appears in four distinct product contexts that should not be treated interchangeably: compounded intranasal spray used in mold-illness (CIRS) protocols, subcutaneous research vials, aviptadil (an investigational intravenous form studied in severe COVID-19), and Invicorp (VIP combined with phentolamine, approved outside the United States for erectile dysfunction). None of these is an FDA-approved standalone VIP drug for general use.

The supplied source reports subcutaneous research-vial ranges of 50 mcg once daily as a conservative start, 100 mcg once or twice daily as a standard research dose, and 200 mcg once or twice daily as an advanced or clinic-style protocol, generally used continuously rather than in a fixed cycle. Separately, it describes a clinician-supervised compounded intranasal protocol associated with mold-illness (CIRS) work using about 50 mcg per spray, often 4-8 sprays daily in alternating nostrils, with the first dose given in a clinic and lipase checked before and after due to a documented pancreatitis risk.

None of these figures come from a peer-reviewed, FDA-reviewed dose-finding trial for a standalone VIP product. The intranasal figures describe a clinician-supervised protocol with mandatory lipase and lab monitoring, beginning with a clinic-administered first dose; they are not a self-start convention, and they do not convert directly to the subcutaneous research-vial figures.

Neutral research-material planning only. This does not establish an appropriate amount or route.

Routes and amounts are not interchangeable unless a verified study explicitly establishes a conversion.

Published study values describe those studies. Community-reported values are not validated dosing recommendations.

Concentration: 2.5 mg/mL

1. 1.Confirm the exact quantity printed on the vial, commonly 10 mg.
2. 2.Choose and record the bacteriostatic water volume. 10 mg into 3 mL gives about 3.33 mg/mL.
3. 3.Clean the vial stopper with an alcohol swab.
4. 4.Add the liquid slowly down the vial wall.
5. 5.Swirl gently until clear; do not shake.
6. 6.Inspect for cloudiness, discoloration, or particles and discard anything that is not clear.
7. 7.Label the vial with the calculated concentration and preparation date.
8. 8.Refrigerate the prepared vial; the compounded intranasal spray, by contrast, is dispensed already prepared by a pharmacy and is not home-mixed.

Reconstitution does not establish identity, purity, sterility, stability, or an appropriate amount.

• Aviptadil, a synthetic VIP formulation, was studied intravenously in randomized trials for severe COVID-19 respiratory failure and was pursued for emergency use authorization; it did not secure FDA approval or authorization for that indication.
• Invicorp, combining VIP with phentolamine, has undergone clinical evaluation and is an approved product for erectile dysfunction in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe; it is not FDA approved in the United States.
• No peer-reviewed, FDA-reviewed dose-finding trial for a standalone subcutaneous or intranasal VIP product for general research or wellness use was identified.
• The compounded intranasal CIRS protocol is described in clinical and mold-illness literature as requiring baseline and monitoring lipase testing due to a documented pancreatitis risk, but it has not been validated in a controlled trial in the way the schedule above is described.

This is an evidence-gap and precaution list, not an approved prescribing label.