Medical Conditions

Overview
Tiki Goblins, bug infestations, and bad days aren't the only problems your colonists will face. If you don't look after their physical well-being, no one may live to regret it. Below is a discussion of health problems and how to combat them.

Allergies
A colonist may be allergic to one or more types of food. This information is included in their personality traits. A colonist with an allergy will not eat an allergenic food if other food is available, but if the situation demands they eat it anyway, they will have an allergic reaction. Keep in mind this includes any prepared food that uses the allergenic food as an ingredient. There is no actual medical treatment to cure allergies; you will have to use 1 Life Satisfaction reward points to remove one allergy.

Bad & Good Health
A colonist may have a personality trait of bad or good health. This is important to be aware of when providing them with medical care. All treatments for a colonist with bad health are 20% more likely to result in failure for that treatment attempt, while all treatments for a colonist with good healthare 20% more likely to result in success for that treatment attempt.

Bleeding Wounds
Bleeding wounds are usually only a concern during and immediately following combat. The injury will cause damage over time for roughly 30 seconds to a minute unless bandaged by a Level 1 or higher Doctor. When successfully bandaged, the wound will continue to bleed, but for a much shorter time (about 5 to 10 seconds).

Broken/Injured Arm
An injured arm is relatively common. It reduces the injured colonist's work speed for about an hour. Thankfully, it does not require medicine to treat. A Level 1 Doctor can attempt to splint the injured arm once every minute or so, and a Level 3 Doctor has an improved chance of success. Once splinted, the arm will recover in about 30 seconds to a minute. However, bad luck or repeated failures may result in a broken arm, preventing the injured colonist from working at all.

Broken/Injured Leg
An injured leg is relatively common. It reduces the injured colonist's movement speed for about an hour. Thankfully, it does not require medicine to treat. A Level 1 Doctor can attempt to splint the injured leg once every minute or so, and a Level 3 Doctor has an improved chance of success. Once splinted, the leg will recover in about 30 seconds to a minute. However, bad luck or repeated failures may result in a broken leg, preventing the injured colonist from moving at all. In this case, the colonist will have to be carried to bed and given food while they recover. An exceptionally unlucky treatment failure may result in the injured colonist acquiring the Limping personality trait. The triggering injury will be healed, but the colonist will permanently move slower. At this point, it will require 4 Life Satisfaction reward points to remove the Limping trait.

Illness
A colonist may contract the flu. The flu has several stages. While Stage 1 is not so bad, letting the illness progress will lead to more severe damage over time and pain, ultimately leading to death. The flu can only be cured by having a Level 1 or higher Doctor administer successful flu treatments to the ill colonist. The flu will NOT go away on its own, no matter how well-fed a colonist is or how much sleep they get. A successful flu treatment reduces the Stage of the illness by 1. If a treatment is successful at Stage 1, the illness is cured. Flu treatment attempts can only be administered once every three minutes, and each flu treatment attempt requires one dose of Illness Medicine. A Doctor must be at least Level 1 to attempt a flu treatment, and being Level 2 increases the chances of successful treatment.

Starvation
If a colonist goes too long without food, they will begin to suffer damage over time from starvation. This damage is likely to cause them to fall unconscious, increasing the threat of death as they can no longer feed themselves. In this case, it is important to have another colonist feed them as quickly as possible. This is done by selecting another colonist, right-clicking the starving colonist, and selecting the "Bring Food" command.

Unconsciousness
Losing consciousness is usually a symptom of a larger problem, such as bleeding wounds, starvation, or a powerful blow from an enemy. The best course of action when a colonist falls unconscious is to have another colonist carry them to bed where the triggering injury or situation can be dealt with at a more controlled pace, unless that injury or situation is immediately life-threatening. In either case, if you have some on hand, Healing Potions are a good idea. Once the more critical injury or situation is dealt with, all it takes is some time spent resting for a colonist to regain their senses.