The Common Cold, often referred to as a cold, is an infectious disease in DayZ.
Causes[ | ]
Survivors can become spontaneously infected with the Common Cold when their body temperature is low. Whenever the thermometer stat icon on the HUD is blue, there's a small chance of catching it.
- The overall probability of getting infected is 40% for every hour the survivor is cold. This translates to 8% for 10 minutes, and 0.85% for one minute for example. In other words, depending on their luck, one could be hypothermic for hours and never get sick, or catch the disease in only a few seconds.
Other survivors suffering from Common cold or Influenza can transmit the disease to nearby player through droplets from their Sneezing or Coughing.
A sick person can also contaminate food they eat, water they drink, and blood that's collected from them. These items can then infect another player if they consume/transfuse them.
Symptoms[ | ]
Sneezing is the only symptom of the Common Cold. It can spread the infection to other Survivors closer than 3 metres (10 feet). The Sneezing can be suppressed using Codeine Pills or Morphine Auto-Injector.
Cold isn't a debilitating disease like Cholera or Wound Infection, but the sneezing survivor can alert other survivors to their position, making this disease relatively risky when entering a city that happens to be having high traffic.
Progression[ | ]
After a player becomes infected by having low body temperature, the Common Cold will incubate for 5 minutes before the symptoms and virus icon indicating a sickness will appear. But if the survivor's Immune System is strong enough, the festering Cold will be defeated in about 3 minutes. Either way, during this brief time period, the carrier will unknowingly pass the disease to water, food and blood.
If the initial infection has come from food or water, the incubation time is 10 minutes. However, this time can be shorter depending on how much contamined items have been consumed. In case the cause is a contaminated IV Blood Bag, the disease will appear immediately after the transfusion action, and it will also be accompanied with a very severe Influenza due to the large amount of pathogens contained in a full blood bag.
When the Common Cold is left untreated, it will keep progressing and will be paired with Influenza within 15 minutes. Together they will reach their maximum severity in up to 50 minutes.
Prevention[ | ]
Avoiding survivors infected with the Common Cold is recommended because the sneezing can spread the disease to anyone within 3 metres (10 feet). If the adequate distance can't be kept, both parties can wear protective headwear or masks.
- The following clothing will offer a full or partial protection against the infection: Burlap sack (on the head), Motorbike Helmet, Welding Mask, any gasmask, Dust Mask, Balaclava, Ski Mask, Surgical Mask, Mime Mask, OKZK Cap, Winter Coif. Only the gas masks are guaranteed to prevent the transmission when worn by either party in the sneezing event.
Avoiding sharing any partially eaten food or drinks with a sick survivor. This applies to the sick survivor themself after they've recovered from the Cold, because their own items can cause a reinfection when consumed. The contaminated water can be treated with Chlorine Tablets or by boiling. Emptying the water container will also clear out any diseases.
Staying warm as well as maintaining high enough Immune System strength.
If your character is cold, Multivitamin Pills and Tetracycline Pills can also be used as a preventive measure against the Common Cold.
Treatment[ | ]
Tetracycline Pills and Multivitamin Pills will kill off the infection. This may take one or more consecutive pills, which should be taken every time immediately after the previous one has worn off, otherwise the Cold will start advancing again and eventually negate the curing progress. Both pills taken simultaneously will allow a faster and more efficient recovery than when used separately.
The survivor can also fight off the Cold through their natural Immune System by raising their Energy, Water, Blood and Health stats high enough.
It's worth noting that the sickness icon on the HUD, along with symptoms, will disappear before the disease is actually fully gone from the survivor's body. For this reason it's recommended to take one more Tetracycline or Multivitamin pill, if they seem to wear off shortly after the sickness icon. This will ensure the Cold will be entirely cleared.
Gallery[ | ]
Trivia[ | ]
- The Common Cold and Influenza are the two stages of the same disease. Once the Common Cold progresses to Influenza, the survivor will have the both diseases active at the same time.
- The Cold is so highly infectious that it has a 100% chance of transmitting to any consumed food or water item. This is possibly the most common reason for recurring infections.