Tools/Sickness checker
DayZ sickness checker
Coughing, puking or laughing at nothing? Tick what your character is doing to see what you caught and how to cure it.
01What's happening?
02Did you recently… helps narrow it down
Every illness in DayZ
Grouped by how you catch them. Tap one for symptoms, stages, the full cure and how to avoid it.
MildSeriousDangerous
From food, water and smoking
CholeraDangerousTetracycline, plus plenty of clean water.SalmonellaSeriousCharcoal tablets or multivitamins. Not tetracycline.Food poisoningMildCharcoal tablets, or wait it out.Kuru (brain disease)SeriousNo cure. It lasts until you die.Heavy metal poisoningDangerousChelating tablets.OvereatingMildStop eating for a bit.
Your stomach is too full, so you throw some of it up. Not a disease.
- Stop eating and drinking for a bit. It passes once your stomach settles.
Where: Any map
Stoned (Cannabis Plus)MildWait about 30 seconds.
On Chernarus we run Cannabis Plus. Smoking a joint gets you stoned for about 30 seconds: you may laugh or cough, and it drains some water.
- Nothing to do. It wears off in about 30 seconds.
Where: Is Dead Chernarus
From cold and heat
Common coldMildGet warm and keep your stats up. It fades by itself.Influenza (flu)SeriousGet warm, then tetracycline.PneumoniaDangerousTetracycline every 5 minutes. Warming up alone won't fix it.Heat strokeDangerousWash your head, shed layers, drink.Being too coldSeriousGet dry and warm.From wounds, injuries and blood
Wound infectionDangerousDisinfect yourself early. Tetracycline if it's gotten worse.Hemolytic reactionDangerousIt stops by itself. Rebuild your blood after.Pain (Inedia)SeriousPainkillers, then treat the injury.
On Livonia and Sakhal, Inedia Pain gives each limb its own pain level. Head pain can cause blurred vision and vomiting, and arm pain makes your aim sway.
- Take painkillers, Tramadol or Morphine to stop the effects, then treat the injury itself (splint, bandage, stitches, bullet extraction).
Where: Is Dead Livonia and Sakhal
From gas and sandstorms
Chemical poisoningDangerousLeave the gas. PO-X antidote from stage 2.SilicosisSeriousGet out of the sandstorm.
New in DayZ 1.30, from breathing sand in a sandstorm on the Badlands map. You cough, gasp and tire quickly, and a bad dose makes you pass out.
- Get out of the sandstorm. It clears by itself once you're out.
Where: Badlands map only
Irritated eyesMildWash your face and wait it out.
New in DayZ 1.30, from sand in your eyes during a sandstorm on the Badlands map.
- Washing your face helps a little. It mostly fades by itself once you're out of the storm.
Where: Badlands map only
Which medicine for what
What each medicine actually does, so you don't waste the good stuff.
| Item | Treats | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Tetracycline | Cholera, flu, pneumonia, wound infection | Each pill works for 5 minutes. Does nothing for salmonella or food poisoning. |
| Charcoal tablets | Salmonella, food poisoning | Works on food poisoning right away. On salmonella it kicks in after about 3 minutes. A second tablet while one is working is wasted. |
| Multivitamins | Helps with salmonella, cholera, colds and flu | Boosts your immune system for 5 minutes. |
| Chelating tablets | Heavy metal poisoning | Each tablet works for 5 minutes. Stage 3 never fades without them. |
| PO-X antidote | Chemical poisoning | Clears stage 1 and 2. Stage 3 needs two, given by a teammate. |
| Disinfectant spray, alcohol tincture, iodine | Wound infection, stage 1 | Use it on yourself. Also disinfects bandages and rags. |
| Painkillers, Morphine | Pain (Inedia) | Also make you cough and sneeze less often. They don't cure illness. |
| Boiling, purification tablets | Makes water safe from cholera | Don't remove heavy metals. |
| Filter bottle | Makes water safe from cholera and heavy metals | The best choice on Sakhal. Hot spring water still gives food poisoning. |
Every symptom and what it can mean
Questions
How do I cure sickness in DayZ?
It depends on what you caught. Tetracycline treats cholera, the flu, pneumonia and wound infection. Charcoal tablets treat salmonella and food poisoning. Chelating tablets treat heavy metal poisoning, and a PO-X antidote treats chemical poisoning. Kuru has no cure. Use the checker above to find out which one you have.
Does tetracycline cure salmonella or food poisoning?
No. In DayZ 1.30 tetracycline has no effect on salmonella or food poisoning. Use charcoal tablets for both. Tetracycline is for cholera, the flu, pneumonia and wound infection.
Why does my character keep coughing?
Coughing usually means the flu or pneumonia (from being cold), chemical poisoning from a toxic gas zone, or, on the Badlands map, a sandstorm. Pick your other symptoms in the checker above to tell them apart.
Why does my character keep laughing?
Random laughing is kuru, from eating human meat, and it has no cure. On Is Dead Chernarus, smoking a joint also makes you laugh for a short while.
Why does my character keep vomiting?
Vomiting can be cholera (bad water), salmonella (raw meat or bloody hands), food poisoning (rotten or burnt food), chemical poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, heat stroke, or simply eating too much. What you ate or drank recently is the best clue.
Is DayZ sickness contagious?
Coughs and sneezes can pass the flu to players within 3 meters, but it only takes hold if they're cold and run down. A mask on either player lowers the chance. Sharing food or a canteen is riskier: eating or drinking from it passes your illness into it, including cholera and salmonella.
How we checked: symptoms, timings and cures come from the DayZ 1.30 game scripts (checked October 31, 2026), plus the DayZ wiki for food effects that live in the game config. Is Dead notes cover our toxic zones, the Inedia mods on Livonia and Sakhal, and Cannabis Plus on Chernarus. Spotted something wrong? Open a ticket in our Discord.
Play it on Is Dead
Modded DayZ PvE on Chernarus, Livonia and Sakhal. Free on PC, no pay-to-win, and a community that's been at it for 6+ years.
- ChernarusPvE + rotating PvP zones, best for new playersSee server
- LivoniaFull PvE, no PvP everSee server
- SakhalHardcore PvE, no PvPSee server