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VIP (Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide)

Also called Aviptadil / Zyesami / RLF-100

A peptide studied mostly for the lungs in the hospital. The trendy nasal use is barely tested.

Updated 03 May 2026Read 3 minBacked by 60 studies

The quick version

What it is: A 28-piece natural peptide (aviptadil) that relaxes blood vessels and airways
Is it FDA-approved?: Only for narrow specialist uses. Not for general or nasal use
How strong is the proof?: Decent for hospital lung use. Almost none for the popular nasal use
How you take it: By a specialist (IV or inhaled). Nasal spray is the off-label version
Typical result: Some signal in severe lung illness, but a big COVID trial failed
Biggest catch: The evidence does NOT cover the 'mold illness' nasal use people buy it for

Any word with a dotted underline is a science word — tap it for a plain-English meaning.

In plain words.

VIP stands for Vasoactive Intestinal . It is a natural peptide with 28 building blocks, first found in 1970. The lab-made version is called aviptadil.

It relaxes blood vessels and airways and calms inflammation in the lung. It works through receptors called VPAC1 and VPAC2.

It has narrow approvals for some specialist uses. During COVID it was studied at scale for severe lung failure, under the brand Zyesami.

Its serious evidence is all about the lungs in the hospital. The trendy nasal use for "mold illness" is a different, barely-tested story.

What people use it for.

In hospitals, it is studied for severe lung problems, like the breathing failure called ARDS.

Off-label, people buy a nasal spray for a condition called CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome), often linked to mold. This is the use that brings most shoppers here.

It is also approved in some places for erectile dysfunction.

Does it actually work?

For the lung use, the evidence is real but mixed. The largest, government-run COVID trial (TESICO, 461 people) did not show benefit on its main goal. Some smaller work hinted at help in the sickest patients.

For the popular nasal "mold illness" use, controlled-trial evidence is essentially zero.

So read the proof carefully. VIP has been seriously studied, but for the lungs, not for the thing most people buy it for.

what you’ve probably heard.

The claims floating around online, and how true they actually are.

“VIP nasal spray fixes mold illness and CIRS.”

unproven

Controlled-trial evidence for the nasal mold-illness use is essentially zero. The serious science behind VIP is all about the lungs, in a hospital, on a drip. The nasal use lives in a different world with almost nothing behind it.

“It is backed by real research, including the COVID trials.”

half true

It has been seriously studied, but for severe lung failure, not for mold. And the largest, government-run COVID trial, with 461 people, did not show benefit on its main goal.

“It is safe to spray at home.”

not quite

VIP relaxes blood vessels by design and can drop your blood pressure. That is why the legitimate uses are specialist-run. Do not use it if you have low blood pressure or take other blood-vessel-relaxing drugs.

“The cheap nasal spray is the same VIP as any other.”

Not if one was shipped warm. VIP is fragile and breaks down fast, so a spray that traveled without cold packing may already be degraded by the time it reaches you. Two sprays that look identical can differ entirely by how they were handled, and you could be spraying one with the active already gone.

How you take it.

The trial versions are specialist-only. In the hospital it is given by IV drip. For some lung diseases it is inhaled, like 100 mcg four times a day in one study.

The off-label CIRS version is a nasal spray, sprayed in the nose. It looks nothing like the careful hospital regimens.

Because VIP relaxes blood vessels, blood pressure matters. Any real use should be watched by a specialist.

What to watch out for.

The serious stuff

VIP is "vasoactive" by design, meaning it relaxes blood vessels and can drop blood pressure.

Do not use it if you have low blood pressure or take other blood-vessel-relaxing drugs.
It can trigger flushing and other reactions.
The nasal "CIRS" use is not validated by any controlled trial, so the risk-to-benefit math is shaky.

The legitimate uses are specialist-run for a reason. Talk to a real doctor. We are not your doctor.

Where people get it.

From safest to riskiest.

Brand (aviptadil). Real, but narrow and specialist-billed. No standard cash price. Not a primary-care option.
nasal spray. Supplied through CIRS clinicians and a few specialty pharmacies, about $200-$500 a month. The "CIRS" use is not proven in trials.
Research-only (). Sold "for research only," about $80-$200 a month. Highest risk. VIP breaks down fast, so identity and stability are uncertain.
. Overseas raw, around $5-$8 a month, but the market is tiny and stability is a real concern without cold shipping.

VIP is fragile. Any vial shipped warm may already be degraded.

Our honest take.

A strange split defines VIP. There is real, serious science behind it, but all of it points at the lungs, in a hospital, on a drip. The nasal spray people actually buy for "mold illness" lives in a totally different world, with essentially no controlled trials behind it.

So if you spray it up your nose for a self-diagnosed CIRS, you are not riding any of that hospital evidence. You are running the experiment on yourself, on a fragile that may already be degraded by the time it reaches you.

The one part that is not a shrug is blood pressure, since VIP relaxes blood vessels by design and can drop yours. If a CIRS specialist who actually worked you up wants to try it under their watch, that is the version that makes any sense. Freelancing it from a gray-market vial is mostly a guess.

The studies behind this.

We read the research so you don't have to. Here's where the facts on this page come from.

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We're not your doctor, and this isn't medical advice. It's a plain-English summary of what the research says, so you can have a smarter conversation with someone who is.

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