This guide explains how medical systems work in vanilla DayZ.
Understanding health, blood, illness, and prevention is critical for long-term survival.
Core Stats
DayZ tracks several core stats that directly affect survival.
Health
Range: 0-100
Health represents your life. When it reaches 0, you die.
Health is lost through:
- Injuries and bleeding
- Starvation and dehydration
- Exposure to cold and wet conditions
- Diseases and infections
Health regenerates slowly when you are well fed, hydrated, and not taking damage. It can be replenished faster with special injections found around the map.
Blood
Range: 0-5000
Blood represents your blood volume.
Low blood causes weakness, screen effects, and can lead to unconsciousness.
Blood regenerates naturally when you are fed and hydrated. It can be replenished faster with special injections found around the map.
Higher blood levels allow faster health regeneration.
Shock
Shock represents trauma.
Low shock can knock you unconscious even if health is not critically low.
Shock recovers naturally over time.
CPR and epinephrine can help recover shock faster.
Bleeding and Injuries
Getting shot, hit, falling, or being attacked can cause bleeding.
Bleeding drains blood over time and must be stopped immediately.
Always carry:
- Bandages or rags
- Disinfectant
Stopping bleeding quickly is often the difference between life and death.
Blood Types and Transfusions
Each character has a blood type.
Blood compatibility matters during transfusions.
How Transfusions Work
- Test blood using a Blood Test Kit
- Draw blood into a Blood Bag
- Combine the Blood Bag with an IV Starter Kit
- Use it on a player to restore blood
Using incompatible blood causes a severe reaction and can kill the player.
Important rules:
- O- is the universal donor
- AB+ is the universal receiver
- Always test blood before transfusing
Never guess blood compatibility. It can cause a hemolytic reaction and kill you.
Food and Water
Hunger and Thirst
Food and water directly affect:
- Blood regeneration
- Health regeneration
- Disease resistance
If you are hungry or dehydrated, you get sick easier and recover slower.
Leaving hunger or thirst untreated can eventually lead to death.
Safe Eating and Drinking
Avoid:
- Raw meat
- Burned or rotten food
- Dirty water from rivers or ponds
- Meat from Predatory Animals (Bears or Wolves)
Good practices:
- Cook all meat before eating
- Boil or purify water before drinking
- Wash or disinfect hands before eating
Vomiting is a sign of food or water poisoning and drains both food and hydration.
Illnesses and Diseases
DayZ includes multiple illnesses caused by food, water, wounds, and exposure.
Cholera
Cholera is a severe waterborne illness.
Cause:
- Drinking untreated water from rivers or ponds
- Drinking contaminated water from bottles or canteens
Symptoms:
- Vomiting
- Rapid dehydration
- Fast loss of food and water
Treatment and prevention:
- Purify or boil water before drinking
- Use chlorine tablets
- Use tetracycline antibiotics
- Slow consumption of clean water and food to counter dehydration
Cholera can become deadly very quickly if not treated.
Wound Infection
Cause:
Dirty bandages or untreated wounds
Symptoms:
- Pain sounds
- Blurred vision
- Fever
- Health and hydration loss
Treatment:
- Disinfect wounds early
- Use tetracycline antibiotics if infection progresses
Salmonellosis
Cause:
- Eating raw or spoiled meat
- Drinking contaminated water
- Eating with bloody or dirty hands
Symptoms:
- Vomiting
- Rapid loss of food and water
Treatment and prevention:
- Cook meat
- Purify water
- Wash or disinfect hands
- Charcoal tablets can help
- Slow consumption of clean food and water to counter starvation and dehydration
Cold, Flu, and Pneumonia
Cause:
- Cold temperatures
- Wet clothing
- Prolonged exposure
- Close contact with sick players
Symptoms:
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Fever
Treatment:
- Get warm and dry
- Wear proper clothing
- Use tetracycline and multivitamins
Poisoning
Food or chemical poisoning can occur from contaminated items.
Symptoms:
- Vomiting
- Rapid hydration and energy loss
Treatment:
- Charcoal tablets
- Slow consumption of clean food and water to counter starvation and dehydration
Chemical Poisoning and Radiation
Chemical poisoning occurs from exposure to toxic gas or radiation zones.
Cause:
Entering contaminated areas without proper protection
Symptoms:
- Rapid health loss
- Bleeding
- Vomiting
- Blurred vision
Treatment and Prevention:
- Use proper protective gear before entering
- Leave the contaminated area immediately
- Treat bleeding and stabilize health
Chemical poisoning is extremely dangerous and can kill quickly.
Do not enter contaminated zones unprepared.
Kuru
Kuru is a "fatal" disease caused by cannibalism.
Cause:
- Eating human meat or fat
Symptoms:
- Uncontrollable laughter
- Muscle spasms
- Loss of coordination
Treatment:
- None
Kuru is permanent and cannot be cured.
The only way to remove it is death.
Avoid consuming any human flesh under all circumstances.
Broken Bones
Broken bones occur from severe falls, or heavy trauma like powerful gunshots, player melee attacks and zombie hits.
Symptoms:
- Limping
- Inability to sprint
- Passing out from shock
Treatment:
- Apply a splint using:
- Short sticks and rags
- Or use a medical splint
Rest until the bone heals.
- Moving too much will delay recovery.
Epinephrine can help with shock but does not heal fractures.
Medical Injectors
The server uses a Medicine Injector system.
These injectors are found around the map, inside medical loot and events.
Available injectors:
- Blood Inject 30, 50, 100 percent restores blood
- Health Inject 30, 50, 100 percent restores health
- Fracture Inject heals broken bones instantly
- Detoxification Inject clears toxins and some diseases
Medical injectors are rare and should be used carefully.
Using them at the right moment can save your life.
Best Practices for Staying Healthy
- Stay hydrated and well fed at all times
- Cook all meat before eating
- Purify or boil water
- Disinfect wounds immediately
- Keep your clothes dry and stay warm
- Carry basic medical supplies
- Treat sickness early
Ignoring illness or basic needs will eventually kill your character and cost you all your loot.
Final Notes
Medical management in DayZ is about prevention.
If you are fed, hydrated, warm, and clean, most diseases can be avoided.
Survival starts with good habits.