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Immune support

VIP

A natural gut and brain peptide, used as a nasal spray.

StatusNot approved as a nasal spray (EU/UK/US)
How well studied in peopleSmall human studies
Experts quoted3 experts

iNot medical advice. We don’t recommend any dose. Every dose below is a quote from the person named, describing their views or their own use. No VIP nasal spray is approved as a medicine in the EU, UK or US. In the US it is made by compounding pharmacies on a doctor’s prescription; products sold online are research chemicals.

What experts say about dosing

3 statements from 3 people. Each one is word for word: we add punctuation only and mark cuts with […]. The chips repeat the exact words used.

Dr Luis MartinezPhysician; co-founder of the Clinical Peptide Society

Slides for doctors: 50-100 mcg three times a day

Dose
“50-100mcg”
How often
“TID (three times a day)”
How long
“taper down post 1 month”
How taken
“nasal inhalation, alternate nostril”

“VIP | 50-100mcg TID | Nasal inhalation Alternate nostril; taper down post 1 month; monitor labs and bp”

Read the source (at p. 30)Peptides for Autoimmune diseases, conference slides by Luis Martinez MD (agemed.org, PDF) · upload date not confirmed

Context: TID means three times a day; bp is blood pressure. A case on page 34 of the same slides started a patient on “VIP 50mcg inh tid; increased to 100mcg inh over 4 weeks”. One row of the “Dosing” table (columns Peptide | Dosing | Comments) in his slides for doctors on autoimmune disease; the table cells are separated here by “|”. The slides are undated.

Dr Ritchie ShoemakerPhysician; developed the Shoemaker protocol for CIRS (mould illness)

Letter to his patients: one spray four times a day

Dose
“one spray”
How often
“four times a day”
How taken
“nasal spray”

“When all three of these criteria are met and patient has adequate understanding of what VIP can do, then the patient can begin treatment with one spray four times a day. […] Further titration of dosing either up or down is only done after consultation with me.”

Read the source (at pp. 1–2)VIP pre-start letter to patients, 18 Apr 2011 (survivingmold.com, PDF, pages 1–2) · 18 Apr 2011

Context: Instructions to his own patients with CIRS. The criteria are a normal visual contrast sensitivity test, a low mould index at home and a negative nasal culture. He also asks for lipase blood tests after one month. The letter does not state the amount per spray; his published papers describe 50 mcg per spray.

Jay CampbellAuthor and podcaster on hormones and peptides; co-founder of a peptide company

What he calls the standard protocol

Dose
“50 mcg … within each nostril”
How often
“up to 4 times per day”
How long
“30-90 days”
How taken
“intra nasally”
When
“gradually reducing the dose to zero”

“The standard protocol for administering VIP seems to be 50 mcg sprayed intra nasally within each nostril up to 4 times per day for a total of 30-90 days (with the goal of gradually reducing the dose to zero).”

Read the sourceVIP Intestinal Peptide: Nasal Spray Benefits and Side Effects (jaycampbell.com) · 27 May 2021

Context: From his 2021 article on VIP. He describes this as the usual protocol rather than his own use. He is not a doctor, and he co-founded a company that sells peptides.

What experts say about safety

0 statements from 0 people about risks and how strong the evidence is.

No expert safety statements are listed yet.

Go deeper

What the research used

Context, not a dosing guide. The human studies with PubMed records tested VIP (as aviptadil) inhaled or by drip in hospital, for lung conditions, not as a home nasal spray. Dr Shoemaker’s own studies of the nasal spray in mould-related illness were small, uncontrolled and published by his own group. None of this sets a dose for self-use.

Human studies

StudyStudied inWhat the study usedWhat it found
Leuchte et al., 2008, Eur Respir JPubMed 1897813520 people with pulmonary hypertensionA single inhaled 100 µg dose during a heart catheter testA small, short-lived widening of lung blood vessels; no side effects reported
Brown et al., 2023, Lancet Respir Med (TESICO)PubMed 37348524471 people in hospital with severe COVID-19 lung failureAviptadil by drip vs placeboNo significant improvement in recovery up to day 90
Esendagli et al., 2025, Med Princ PractPubMed 3987006480 people in hospital with COVID-19 pneumoniaInhaled aviptadil vs placebo, added to usual careSomewhat faster discharge and less lung damage on CT at day 28; well tolerated
What we don’t know yet
  • No controlled trials of the nasal spray at the doses quoted.
  • The larger trials were in hospital patients with lung failure, and the largest found no benefit.
  • Dr Shoemaker’s protocol is used only after other steps and with blood tests, including lipase, under a doctor’s care.
  • Products sold online as research peptides are unregulated, so identity, purity and dose accuracy vary.
Common questions

How do the two expert protocols compare?

Dr Ritchie Shoemaker’s letter to his patients says to begin with “one spray four times a day”, with any change only after consulting him. Jay Campbell describes 50 mcg in each nostril up to four times a day for 30 to 90 days. Dr Luis Martinez’s slides for doctors give 50-100 mcg three times a day, tapering after a month. See their quotes for context.

Why does Dr Shoemaker require tests first?

His letter lists three conditions before starting: a normal visual contrast test, low mould levels at home and a nasal culture without certain resistant bacteria. He also asks for a lipase blood test after one month.

Why does the protocol section only contain quotes?

We do not write our own dose ranges. The protocol cards show, word for word, what named people have publicly said, with their caveats and a link to the source.

About this page

Word-for-word statements about how VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) is used, each with a link to the source. VIP is a natural hormone-like peptide found in the gut, brain and lungs. As a nasal spray it is best known from a treatment protocol for mould-related illness. The research is listed separately as context.

Also known as
Vasoactive intestinal peptide; vasoactive intestinal polypeptide; aviptadil
Type
Natural 28-amino-acid neuropeptide
Last updated
11 Oct 2026

Last reviewed 11 Oct 2026 · Compiled by the Peptide Dosing editorial team · How we check quotes