Medicines and drugs in Project Zomboid

Medicines in Project Zomboid treat moodles and conditions, not wounds. Pills push down pain, panic, unhappiness or fatigue. Antibiotics weaken an ordinary wound infection. Herbs give small, specific benefits. Nothing in the game cures the Knox infection: antibiotics state in their tooltip that they cannot prevent zombification, so a bite under default settings is still fatal.

For cleaning, bandaging, stitching and splints, read first aid. For how health, pain and illness work in the background, read health. The moodles each drug targets are explained on moodles and mood.

All pills are taken through the right-click menu or the health panel. A standard pill bottle is a drainable item with a use value of 0.1, which works out to 10 doses per bottle. Bottles weigh 0.2 each, so carrying a full set costs little.

Spawn notes come from loot table weights on pzfans, which are relative, not percentage chances. The "medicine" container in those tables is the bathroom medicine cabinet. See loot locations for which buildings to search.

• Painkillers lower the Pain moodle from injuries, fractures and illness. They do not speed healing. Take one when pain is stopping you sleeping or slowing you down.
• Beta Blockers suppress panic. They are most useful early in a run, or for characters with fearful traits, before nerves are hardened by kills.
• Antidepressants work on unhappiness over a long window rather than instantly. Sources describe the effect as sustained but give no hour count for Build 42.
• Sleeping Pills let you fall asleep when pain or anxiety would otherwise keep you awake. Pair them with the advice on sleep.
• Caffeine Pills are the Build 42 name for the old vitamins item. The item ID is still PillsVitamins and the tooltip key is still the vitamins one, so older guides and some sites still call them vitamins. Each use lowers fatigue and raises stress slightly.
• Antibiotics are a food-type item rather than a pill bottle. The item script gives a ReduceInfectionPower value of 50 (one source). Use them as soon as a wound shows infection, alongside disinfectant.

Overdose. No Build 42 source we checked documents an overdose threshold. Players have long reported deaths after mixing several sleeping pills with heavy drinking, but those are forum anecdotes, not confirmed figures. Opinion Take one pill at a time and do not stack sleeping pills with alcohol until you have tested it yourself.

Cigarettes are the cheapest stress fix in the game. Each smoke lowers stress, and you need a lighter or matches to use one. A pack holds 20. pzfans lists a small food sickness increase per cigarette, which matters most for characters without the Smoker trait. Smokers get stressed when they go without, so for them cigarettes are maintenance, not a bonus. See traits and occupations.

Alcohol lowers stress and boredom but brings the Drunk moodle, which hurts aim, movement and judgment. Strong spirits such as whiskey and vodka also sterilize bandages and rags. The full breakdown of drinks is on alcohol.

Opinion Caffeine pills are a poor trade for most players. Five doses of reduced fatigue with added stress rarely beat simply sleeping, but they can get you home after a long looting run.

Seven medicinal plants can be found through foraging. Four are eaten directly and three are only ground into poultices.

Each poultice takes five matching herbs and a mortar and pestle, and is applied from the health panel like a bandage. The recipes are learned from the Wilderness Survival magazine; see magazines and wilderness survival. No source gives numbers for how much a poultice speeds recovery.

Bathroom medicine cabinets are the everyday source of painkillers, beta blockers, antidepressants and sleeping pills. Pharmacies, medical clinics, hospitals and ambulances carry larger amounts and are the best places for antibiotics. Doctor bags, medical bags and first aid kits on zombies or in vehicles also hold pills. Nurses and medics are worth searching.

1. Check every bathroom you loot, even in ordinary houses.
2. Clear one pharmacy or clinic early for antibiotics and disinfectant.
3. Search first aid kits in cars and camping areas.
4. Forage woods and fields for herbs once supplies run low.

Crafting. Factory pills cannot be crafted in Build 42. The only medicines you can make are the three poultices and sterilized dressings made by soaking rags or bandages in disinfectant or strong alcohol. Opinion Treat antibiotics as a finite stock and save them for infections that do not clear on their own. More crafting options are listed on recipes.