The Ultimate First Aid Guide — Project Zomboid Build 42

Chapter 1

First aid in Build 42

Most survivors do not die in a fight. They die a day later, from a wound they treated wrong.

First Aid is the skill of treating injuries. It does not make scratches heal faster. What it does is make treatment faster and cleaner, make bandages and poultices last longer, make splints work better, and make broken bones heal sooner.

🩹

Treatable

Scratches, lacerations, deep wounds, burns, glass, bullets, broken bones, wound infection. All of it heals with the right care.

🧟

Not treatable

The Knox Infection, the zombie virus. A bite gives it to you every time. No bandage, pill or skill changes that.

The treatment loop

Get safeFinish the fight or run.
LookOpen the health panel. Read each wound.
RemoveGlass or bullets come out first.
DisinfectAlcohol or disinfectant on the wound.
CloseStitch deep wounds. Splint fractures.
BandageEvery wound, always.
RestEat, drink, sleep. Health climbs back.

Why the order matters

A bandage over a piece of glass never heals. A bandage over a dirty wound gets infected. Do the steps in order and the body does the rest.

Chapter 2

Build your medic

First Aid is slow to train and you only train it by getting hurt. A head start is worth a lot.

Doctor (job)

The medic. Starts with First Aid 6. Everything heals faster and treatment is quick.

Nurse (job)

A cheaper medical start with First Aid and the Night Owl trait.

First Aider (trait, 2 points)

+1 First Aid. Cheap and useful on any character.

Fast Healer (trait)

Wounds heal faster. Not a First Aid level, but it does the job the skill cannot.

Former Scout (trait, 6 points)

+1 First Aid and +1 Foraging, and a fishing rod recipe.

Thick Skinned (trait)

Fewer scratches and bites get through in the first place. Prevention is the best medicine.

Watch out: point costs change

The game makers still tune traits and jobs. Always read the numbers on your own character screen.

Books and TV

First Aid is a normal skill, so its 5 books give the full boost: 3, 5, 8, 12 and 16 times XP. Life and Living has a first aid show. Watch it for your first 3 levels.

Chapter 3

The health panel

The health panel is your medical chart. Every wound is listed there with its own timer.

Open it

Click the heart icon in the top left, or press H. You see a body outline. Injured parts are colored.

Read each wound

Hover or click a body part. It tells you the wound type: scratch, laceration, deep wound, bite, fracture, burn, or glass. It also tells you if it is bleeding, bandaged, or infected.

Treat from the panel

With the medical item in your inventory, right-click the body part. Choose the treatment. You can also right-click a bandage in your inventory and pick the body part from there.

Good to knowYour overall health bar is at the top. Watch it. If it keeps falling, something is still bleeding or lodged.

Secret: treat friends too

You can open a friend's health panel and treat them. A group with one Doctor is a group that survives.

Chapter 4

Bandage and disinfect

2 items handle most wounds. Learn them cold.

Bandages

Item	Where from	Good to know
Bandage	First aid kits, bathrooms, pharmacies	The standard.
Ripped sheet	Rip any sheet or clothing	Endless supply. Works as a bandage.
Sterilized bandage or rag	Craft: bandage or rag plus alcohol, or boil in hot water	The best. Lowest infection risk.
Adhesive bandage	First aid kits	For small scratches.

Disinfectants

Bottle of disinfectant from pharmacies and kits.
Alcohol wipes from kits.
Bourbon, vodka or whiskey. Yes, really. Alcohol on the wound.

Treat a bleeding wound

Stop the bleeding with any bandage or rag right away. Then, when safe, disinfect the wound and put a clean bandage on. A wound with no bandage does not heal.

NeedAny bandage or ripped sheet, and something to disinfect

You getA healing wound and First Aid XP

Watch out: dirty bandages

Bandages turn dirty, then bloody. The official wiki says a dirty bandage does not slow healing, but the time a wound spends with no bandage does. Many players still change dirty ones to cut infection risk. The safe middle: change a dirty bandage only when the clean one is already in your hand.

Secret: wash and reuse

A dirty bandage or rag plus water becomes clean again. Boil it or add alcohol and it is sterilized. You never run out.

Chapter 5

Every wound type

Read the wound name. Then follow its recipe.

Wound	Comes from	Knox risk (from zombies)	Treatment
Scratch	Zombies, trees, glass	7%	Disinfect, bandage
Laceration	Zombies, glass	25%	Disinfect, bandage
Bite	Zombies	100%	Bandage to stop bleeding. Then see Chapter 8.
Deep wound	Glass, bullets, bad falls	None on its own	Remove object, stitch, bandage
Fracture	Falls, car crashes	None	Splint, bandage, rest for weeks
Burn	Fire, hot stoves	None	Bandage. Slow to heal.
Lodged glass or bullet	Windows, guns	None	Remove with tweezers, then treat the deep wound

Watch out: the numbers are default settings

7%, 25% and 100% are the default Blood and Saliva rule. Sandbox: Transmission Sandbox can change it to Saliva Only, Everyone's Infected, or None.

Secret: cover up

Long sleeves, gloves and a scarf lower the chance a scratch or bite gets through. Clothing is your first bandage.

Chapter 6

Deep wounds: glass and bullets

A deep wound bleeds hard and will not close on its own. A bandage alone is not enough.

Remove the object

If glass or a bullet is lodged, it comes out first. Use tweezers or forceps. Bare hands work for glass but hurt a lot. A bullet needs a tool.

NeedTweezers, forceps, or a suture needle holder

You getFirst Aid XP

Stitch it

Right-click the wound. Stitch with a suture needle (single use) or a needle and thread. A suture needle holder makes it hurt less.

Bandage it

Bandaging a stitched wound halves the recovery time. Disinfect first if you can.

Remove the stitches later

When the wound has healed, right-click it and remove the stitches. It gives a little First Aid XP.

Watch out: never fight with glass in your foot

Every step and swing with a lodged object causes more pain and damage. Treat it the moment you are safe.

Secret: shoes save feet

Walking barefoot over broken glass lodges shards. Wear shoes. Break windows with a weapon, not your hand, and clear the frame before you climb through.

Chapter 7

Broken bones

A fracture is the slowest injury in the game. Weeks of limping. Avoid the fall in the first place.

Make a splint

Craft one from a fabric strip and a stick, plank or branch. Any ripped sheet, denim or leather strip works, clean or dirty.

Need1 fabric strip and 1 plank, branch or stick

You get1 splint

Apply it, then bandage

Right-click the fractured limb and apply the splint. Then bandage over it. Head and torso fractures cannot be splinted, only rested.

Higher First AidSplints work better and fractures heal sooner. This is the one place skill speeds healing.

Fractures come from falls from a second floor or higher, and from car crashes.
You cannot run on a broken leg. Plan to stay home.
Comfrey poultice helps fractures. See Chapter 9.

Watch out: sheet ropes, not jumping

A drop from the second floor often breaks something. Higher is usually fatal. Always climb down a sheet rope.

Chapter 8

The 2 infections

This mix-up ends more runs than any zombie. There are 2 infections. They are nothing alike.

Wound infection

A dirty-wound problem. Caused by skipping disinfectant or leaving dirty bandages on. The health panel shows "infected". It slows healing, raises pain, and can kill if ignored.

Cure: clean the wound, use sterilized bandages, rest. It clears.

Knox Infection

The zombie virus. A bite always gives it. A laceration sometimes. A scratch rarely. The first sign is the Queasy moodle a few hours later, then fever, then death.

Cure: none in the normal game. Not pills, not skill, not vitamins.

Watch out: "I bandaged the bite fast" changes nothing

First aid does not lower the chance of turning. If you are bitten on default settings, the run is over. Spend the hours setting up loot for your next survivor.

Secret: the 24 to 72 hour watch

After a zombie scratch or laceration, watch your moodles for up to 3 days. No Queasy, no fever, and you are clear. Sleep in a safe place until then.

Secret: you can turn the virus off

Custom Sandbox has a Transmission setting. Blood and Saliva is the default. Saliva Only makes only bites dangerous. None turns it off. Your game, your rules.

Chapter 9

Wild medicine and poultices

When the pharmacy is empty, the forest floor is the backup.

Foragers with herbal knowledge can find medicinal plants and grind them into poultices. You need 5 of the matching herb and a mortar and pestle.

Poultice	Made from	Helps with
Plantain poultice	5 plantain	Wounds
Comfrey poultice	5 comfrey	Fractures
Wild garlic poultice	5 wild garlic	Wound infection

Apply a poultice to the wound from the health panel, like a bandage. Higher First Aid makes poultices last longer.

Secret: who can make them

The Herbalist or Bushcrafter traits, or reading the Wilderness Survival magazine. Medicinal plants get their own foraging focus at Foraging 6. See the Foraging guide.

Chapter 10

Pills and healing

Pills do not heal wounds. They manage what the wound does to you.

Item	What it does	What it does NOT do
Painkillers	Lower pain. Better aim and movement.	Heal anything.
Antibiotics	Help fight wound infection and colds.	Stop the Knox Infection.
Vitamins	Reduce tiredness a little.	Cure anything.
Beta Blockers	Lower panic.	Lower stress.
Sleeping pills	Help you sleep through pain.	Keep you safe while asleep.

What actually heals you

Time with a bandage on.
Food and water. Hungry, thirsty survivors heal slowly.
Sleep in a bed.
Low endurance drain. Do not run around injured.
The Fast Healer trait.

Chapter 11

Sickness that is not a wound

Not every problem is a cut. Some are in your gut, your lungs or your temperature.

Food poisoning

From raw, rotten or burnt food. Rest, drink, and wait. See the Cooking guide.

A cold

From being wet and cold. Dry off, warm up, rest. Outdoorsy helps prevent it.

Corpse sickness

New in Build 42. Standing among many dead bodies makes you sick. Wear a mask, or move the bodies and burn them.

Hypothermia and heat

Dress for the season. Wet clothes in winter can kill.

Watch out: Queasy has 2 meanings

Queasy after eating bad food is food poisoning. Queasy hours after a zombie wound is the Knox Infection. Check what happened first.

Chapter 12

Training plan: 0 to 10

First Aid XP comes from treating. You cannot practice without a patient.

Levels 0 to 3: books, TV and honest wounds

Read First Aid I. Watch the medical show. Treat every scratch properly: disinfect, bandage. Remove and reapply bandages when it is safe. Sterilized bandages and disinfectant give more XP than rags.

Levels 3 to 6: be the group medic

In multiplayer, treat your friends. Every stitch, splint and bandage on someone else is XP for you. Read First Aid II and III.

Levels 6 to 10: the long road

Read IV and V. Keep treating. Remove old stitches for small XP. There is no fast, safe way here.

Watch out: the glass trick

Some players walk on broken glass on purpose to farm remove-glass, stitch and bandage XP. It is real, and it is dangerous. Only consider it with the virus turned off and no zombies nearby. Health that keeps dropping means stop.

Level by level: First Aid

The best single thing to do at each level. Read the matching book first when one exists.

Level	Do this for most of your XP	Why
0 to 1	Watch the first aid show. Read First Aid I	TV to 3. Books on treatments
1 to 2	Disinfect and bandage every scratch properly	Sterile bandages give more XP than rags
2 to 3	Re-bandage when safe, remove and reapply	Each application is XP
3 to 4	Read First Aid II. Treat friends in co-op	Other people are patients too
4 to 5	Stitch deep wounds, remove glass with tweezers	Bigger treatments pay more
5 to 6	Read First Aid III. Splint fractures, then remove stitches later	Every step of a bad injury is XP
6 to 7	Be the group medic. Poultices count	Volume of patients is the grind
7 to 8	Read First Aid IV. Keep treating	No safe shortcut exists
8 to 9	Same. The glass trick only with the virus off	Dangerous. Not recommended
9 to 10	Read First Aid V. Patience	Slowest skill to max honestly

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Chapter 13

Tips, tricks and fixes

20 tips from the clinic

Before you get hurt

Take First Aider or Doctor.
Keep a bandage and disinfectant in your main inventory, not your bag.
Wear long sleeves, gloves and shoes.
Clear window frames before climbing through.
Use sheet ropes, never jump.

When you are hurt

Bandage first, disinfect second, when safe.
Take glass out before anything else.
Stitch deep wounds. A bandage will not close them.
Splint fractures, then bandage.
Never leave a wound bare.
Change dirty bandages with the clean one already in hand.
Eat, drink and sleep. That is what heals.

Infection

Wound infection: clean it and it clears.
Knox Infection: nothing clears it.
Watch moodles for 3 days after a zombie scratch.
Bitten on default settings? Prepare the loot for your next survivor.

Supplies

Rip sheets. Endless bandages.
Wash dirty rags. Boil them for sterile ones.
Bourbon is disinfectant.
Forage plantain, comfrey and wild garlic.

Fix-it table

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Health keeps dropping after bandaging.	Glass or a bullet is still in, or a deep wound is not stitched.	Remove the object. Stitch.
The wound says infected.	Skipped disinfectant, or dirty bandages.	Disinfect, sterilized bandage, rest, wild garlic.
I am Queasy hours after a fight.	Possibly the Knox Infection.	Check for a bite. If bitten, it is fatal on default settings.
I cannot splint my chest.	Head and torso cannot be splinted.	Rest and bandage only.
Bandaging does not stop the bleeding.	Multiple wounds.	Check every body part in the panel.
I have no bandages.	Not looking in the right place.	Rip a sheet or any clothing.
The wound will not heal.	No bandage, or hungry and tired.	Bandage it. Eat, drink, sleep.
I cannot remove a bullet by hand.	Bullets need a tool.	Tweezers or forceps.
My friend is hurt.	You can treat others.	Open their health panel and right-click the wound.
Painkillers did nothing for the cut.	They only lower pain.	Treat the wound itself.

Chapter 14

Medic's test

7 questions. Get them all right and you are the base medic.

Chapter 15

Words and sources

Medic's word list

Health panel: The heart-icon screen that lists every wound.
Laceration: A deeper cut than a scratch. Higher Knox risk.
Deep wound: A wound that needs stitches to close.
Fracture: A broken bone. Needs a splint and weeks of rest.
Splint: A stick tied to a limb to hold a broken bone.
Suture needle: A single-use stitching needle.
Sterilized: Cleaned with alcohol or boiling. Lowest infection risk.
Wound infection: A treatable dirty-wound infection.
Knox Infection: The zombie virus. Not treatable.
Queasy: The first sickness moodle. Could be food, could be the virus.
Poultice: Mashed herbs applied to a wound.
Transmission: The sandbox setting for how the virus spreads.

How sure are we?

Every fact here was checked in September 2026 for game version 42.20.4. Order of trust: the official wiki, then well-sourced fan guides, then player reports.

Dirty bandages. The official wiki says they do not slow healing and warns against leaving wounds bare. Many fan guides say dirty bandages cause infection. The guide gives both and a safe middle path.
Knox chances. 7%, 25% and 100% come from fan guides citing the official wiki, for default settings.
Poultice recipes. "5 herbs plus a mortar and pestle" comes from a fan guide.
Doctor starting level. First Aid 6 from an occupations list for 42.19.
Transmission choices. Blood and Saliva (the default), Saliva Only, Everyone's Infected and None, from the official wiki's server settings page for 42.20.0. An earlier version of this guide listed "Bites Only". That is not a choice.
Job and trait values. May change.

Sources

PZwiki (the official wiki): First Aid
Build42guide.wiki first aid page (treatment order, the 2 infections, XP routes)
Guides-factory first aid guide, cross-checked against the official wiki (wound table, skill effects)
PZfans first aid guides for 42.19 (splint and sterilizing recipes, poultices, the glass trick warning)
Games.gg and Supercraft first aid guides (deep wounds, stitches)