Medical

Medical covers everything used to treat injuries and illness. The group holds bandages, disinfectants, suture needles, splints, pills and herbal poultices. Injuries happen in every game, and an untreated wound can bleed, get infected or never heal. The First Aid skill decides how well treatments work. First Aid and Bandages each have their own pages. The Doctor is the best occupation for medical. It starts with the most First Aid skill. The Nurse and the Park Ranger also start with some First Aid skill.

All Medical Categories

Best Medical

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Lightest	Bandage - Adhesive		0.05 weight	/additem Base.Bandaid
Heaviest	Box of Cold Packs		1.5 weight	/additem Base.ColdpackBox

Injuries

The health panel shows every injury by body part. It covers the head, neck, upper and lower torso, groin, hands, forearms, upper arms, thighs, shins and feet. Open it from the left side of the screen.

The game names many kinds of injury. These include Scratched, Laceration, Deep Wound, Bitten, Burned and Fracture. A wound can also hold a Lodged Bullet or Lodged Glass Shards. Any wound can become Infected. Treated wounds show as Bandaged, Stitched or Splinted.

Overall health runs from OK down through Minor, Moderate and Severe damage to Critical, Terminal and Deceased. The Injured moodle and the Bleeding moodle warn of trouble. Bleeding runs from Minor Bleeding to Massive Blood Loss. Its first tooltip simply says "Bandage required."

Some injuries are more dangerous than others. Neck wounds can kill within minutes if left unbandaged. Leg injuries cause a limp. Arm injuries cut weapon damage sharply.

Treatment Basics

Treatment happens in the health panel. Right-click a wound and pick a treatment. The game's guide says many clothes can be ripped into a Rag for use as a bandage. It adds that a disinfectant on the bandage or the wound prevents infection.

Each wound type needs its own care. Scratches, lacerations and burns need a bandage. A deep wound needs stitches from a Suture Needle. A lodged bullet or glass shard comes out with Tweezers or Forceps. A fracture needs a Splint, then a bandage.

Untreated wounds do not heal. A bandage stops the bleeding and lets healing begin. A dirty bandage still lets the wound heal, but it raises the chance of infection. Change to a clean or sterilised bandage when one is at hand.

Wounds heal at different speeds. Scratches heal fastest. Lacerations and deep wounds take longer. Burns and bites take the longest of the open wounds. A fracture can take weeks to heal, even with a splint. Keep the wound bandaged until it closes, and watch for the Infected status.

Infection

There are two kinds of infection. A wound infection comes from dirt, dirty bandages or dirty and bloody clothes. Clean bandages, washing and disinfectant prevent it. Antibiotics fight it. Their tooltip warns that they cannot prevent zombification.

The Knox Virus is the other kind. A zombie bite always infects. A zombie scratch has a 7 percent chance, and a laceration a 25 percent chance. No medicine cures it. The Sick moodle shows its course: Queasy, Nauseous, Sick and then Fever.

Sickness also comes from other sources. Too many corpses in one area cause sickness through the Noxious Smell moodle. Rotten food and tainted water can make the character ill. A cold shows as the Runny Nose moodle and climbs to Nasty Cold.

Medicines

Pills treat the mind and body. Painkillers reduce feelings of pain. Beta Blockers reduce panic. Antidepressants reduce unhappiness over sustained periods. Sleeping Pills help in getting to sleep. Caffeine Pills give a burst of energy and reduce fatigue.

Herbs give a natural pharmacy. Plantain aids recovery from wounds as a poultice. Comfrey aids recovery from broken bones. Wild Garlic helps fight infection. Common Mallow relieves cold and flu symptoms. Black Sage gives mild pain relief. Ginseng restores endurance.

The guide warns against mixing pills. Sleeping Pills or Painkillers may help with rest, but they are best not mixed with alcohol.

Homemade Medicine

Many medical items can be made at home. Make Splint ties a Rag, Denim Strips or Leather Strips to a Plank, a Tree Branch or a Wooden Rod. It needs no skill. Rip Clothing turns cotton clothes into Rag, and Rip Sheet turns a bed sheet into 10 Rag.

Alcohol sterilises. Disinfect Rag uses Rubbing Alcohol, Vodka or Whiskey to make a Rag (Sterilized) or a Bandage (Sterilized). Douse Cotton in Alcohol makes Cotton Balls Doused in Alcohol. Clean Bandage washes a dirty bandage or rag with water.

Herbs become poultices. Grind Up Plantain, Grind Up Comfrey and Grind Up Wild Garlic each take 5 herbs and a Mortar and Pestle. They must be learned first. The Herbalist and Bushcrafter traits know them, and the Park Ranger starts with Herbalist.

Skill and Traits

The First Aid skill governs all treatment. Its in-game text says it increases the available information for injuries and the quality of medical treatments. A higher level makes bandages stay clean for longer.

The Doctor starts with First Aid 6. The Nurse starts with First Aid 3. The Park Ranger, the First Aider trait and the Former Scout trait each add First Aid 1. The Herbalist trait lets the character find medicinal herbs and craft poultices from them.

Some traits change healing. Fast Healer recovers quickly from injuries and illness. Slow Healer recovers slowly. Fear of Blood causes panic during self-treatment and blocks first aid on others. Thick-skinned gives a lower chance of being scratched or bitten.

Locations

Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies hold the most medical supplies. Medical storage rooms hold Painkillers, Antibiotics and Alcohol Wipes. Doctor and nurse supplies hold Bandages, Suture Needles and Beta Blockers.

Homes have smaller stocks. Bathroom cabinets hold Bandage - Adhesive, Tweezers and the odd box of pills. First Aid Kits turn up in security offices, fire stations and prison guard lockers. Ambulances carry Bandages and Painkillers.

Notes

• Keep at least one sterilised bandage in the main inventory at all times.
• Wash dirty bandages with clean water to reuse them.