Project Zomboid First Aid Guide (Build 42.19)

Project Zomboid First Aid Guide (Build 42.19)

Health Panel treatment order and item uses for Project Zomboid Build 42.19 (vanilla Apocalypse defaults).

How treatment works Open the Health Panel (heart icon, upper left). Carry the medical item you need, then right-click the injured body part and apply the treatment. You can also select a bandage in inventory and use it from there. Treat the most dangerous problem first: heavy bleeding, lodged objects, then deep wounds, then routine bandaging.
Zombie bites are not a first-aid cure On default Apocalypse settings, zombie infection uses Blood and Saliva transmission and 2–3 day mortality. Bandaging a bite only manages bleeding and surface wound risk. Official item text for antibiotics is explicit: they fight wound infection and cannot prevent zombification. The in-game Health Panel tip for bites is simply: bandage and pray.

Core medical kit

Bandage icon Bandage / rag Stop bleeding
Sterilized bandage icon Sterilized dressing Lower wound infection risk
Disinfectant bottle icon Disinfectant / alcohol Clean wounds, sterilize bandages
Tweezers icon Tweezers / holder Remove glass or bullets
Suture needle icon Suture needle Close deep wounds
Splint icon Splint Fracture recovery
Antibiotics icon Antibiotics Wound infection only
First aid kit icon First Aid Kit Looted medical container

Treatment priority table

“Critical Injuries” on the Injured moodle is a severity label for low health, not a separate wound type with one recipe. Fix the actual body-part conditions listed below. Change dirty bandages early; dirty dressings raise wound-infection risk.

Condition Urgency Items Action order
Bleeding Critical Bandage, adhesive bandage, ripped sheets, or sterilized versions Bandage immediately. Replace when the dressing turns dirty. Sterilized dressings are better when infection risk is high.
Lodged glass shards Critical Tweezers, suture needle holder, or other tools that can remove glass; then a bandage 1) Remove shards. 2) Bandage. Leaving glass in place keeps damage and bleeding active.
Lodged bullet Critical Tweezers or suture needle holder; suture needle; disinfectant/alcohol; bandage 1) Remove bullet. 2) Stitch if a deep wound remains. 3) Disinfect and bandage.
Deep wound High Suture needle; suture needle holder (higher success); bandage 1) Remove any foreign object first. 2) Stitch. 3) Bandage. 4) Later remove stitches when the wound has closed.
Fracture High Splint (craft: ripped sheet/denim/leather strip + plank, tree branch, or wooden stick); optional Comfrey poultice Apply a splint, then wait a long recovery window. A splint shortens heal time; it is not instant.
Scratch / laceration / burn Normal Bandage; alcohol, disinfectant, alcohol wipes, or sterilized bandages Bandage and wait. Disinfect the wound or use a sterilized dressing to reduce wound infection. Change dirty bandages.
Infected wound (local) High Sterilized bandage or disinfectant on dressing; antibiotics; optional Wild Garlic poultice Use clean/sterilized dressings and take antibiotics. This is not the Knox virus from a zombie bite.
Bite (zombie contact) Critical Bandage / sterilized bandage for the open wound Bandage bleeding and keep the site clean. On default settings this does not stop fatal infection if transmission succeeded. Check sandbox Transmission and Infection Mortality if you use custom rules.

Sickness is not one disease

Vitamins do not heal illness Vitamins only reduce fatigue and slightly lower stress. They are not a treatment for fever, food poisoning, colds, corpse sickness, or zombie infection.
What you feel Likely source What actually helps What does not
Health Panel shows Infected Wound on a body part Local wound infection Sterilized dressings, disinfectant, antibiotics, and rest while health recovers Using the Sick moodle alone as proof of a wound infection; ignoring dirty bandages
Sick after bad food, rotten meals, or unknown berries Food sickness / poison Stop eating the source; Lemon Grass for minor food poisoning; rest and clean water/food Antibiotics as a food-poison cure; vitamins
Sick near many corpses / rotten environment Corpse / environment sickness Leave the area, clear corpses, rest outdoors or in cleaner rooms Bandaging a healthy limb; vitamins
Runny nose → coughing cold Has a Cold moodle Stay warm, rest, Common Mallow for cold/flu relief; manage sneezes that attract zombies Antibiotics for every cold; vitamins as medicine
Progressive sickness after a zombie bite/scratch under infection rules Zombie / Knox infection Only prevention (avoid hits, armor) or sandbox/mod changes; bandage still manages the physical wound First-aid kits, antibiotics, vitamins, sleep-and-eat rituals as a cure
The Sick moodle does not diagnose a local wound infection In Build 42.19, the Sick moodle covers zombie fever/infection, food sickness, and general sickness. Ordinary wound infection is tracked separately on body parts in the Health Panel. A badly infected wound can still drain health (sandbox wound-infection strength affects how hard), but Sick or Fever should make you check food poisoning, corpse exposure, Knox infection, and other causes — not assume the bandage is the problem.

Practical treatment loop

  1. Get to safety. Stop fighting while bleeding if you can.
  2. Open the Health Panel and read every red/status line on each body part.
  3. Remove glass or bullets before you expect a wound to close.
  4. Stitch deep wounds, then bandage.
  5. Disinfect or use sterilized dressings when infection risk is high.
  6. Splint fractures; plan for a long mobility penalty.
  7. Replace dirty bandages and rest with food and water while health climbs back.

Craft notes used in treatment

  • Make Splint: one fabric strip (ripped sheets, denim, or leather, clean or dirty) + one plank, tree branch, or wooden stick.
  • Disinfect bandage/rag: bandage or ripped sheets + a little rubbing alcohol, vodka, or whiskey → sterilized dressing. Hot water can also sterilize via medical craft recipes.
  • Clean dirty bandage: dirty bandage/rag + water restores a clean dressing for reuse.
  • Poultices (learned recipes): Plantain for wounds, Comfrey for fractures, Wild Garlic for infection support — each needs five matching herbs and a mortar and pestle.

Prevention that actually reduces first-aid demand

  • Wear layered clothing on arms, hands, and neck to cut bite and scratch chance.
  • Clear broken window glass before climbing through; use shoes on glass-covered floors.
  • Do not jump from roofs while heavily loaded if you can avoid it — fractures and deep wounds stack with fall damage.
  • Carry at least one bandage stack plus tweezers or a suture needle holder before looting high-glass interiors.
  • Loot clinics, ambulances, bathrooms, and first-aid kits for needles, antibiotics, and disinfectant early.

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