Infection - does it exist?

[koteko]

Been playing for a few years, but I really don't know. There's influenza, there's bleeding wounds, normal wounds, frostbite, fractures. I've had them all and cured them all. I even survived deadly mushroom poisoning, a long time ago, I believe with a combination of sage healing, sauna and burdock (IIRC). (gotta have to try this a few times with a test character, to see the death rate, but I digress)

One thing I always assumed was in the game (because of the many herbs supposed to prevent it): infection of untreated wounds.

Has anyone had it? Is it implemented in the game at all?

If not, what do the anti-microbial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, vulnerary and astringent properties do? (the last one may reduce the chance of a bleeding wound re-opening, maybe. It happens often to me if I clean and dress bleeding wounds, even over days. Must try it out)

[PALU]

I haven't seen any infection, no. I haven't seen any effect from the herbs when applied to wounds either, but when I've treated previously bleeding wounds in the past I've used herbs that are supposed to staunch bleeding when trying to do that if the wound opened up (I haven't had any reason to try that with my current character).
In fact, when characters have been subjected to serious bleeding and I haven't got access to the blood stanching incantation (which I don't, with my current character, several years in), I've refrained from treating that wound to avoid opening it up and bleed to death. Instead, I've held up treatment until the blood levels have recovered.

I suspect the herb effects are mainly place holders for a more advanced wound implementation (it's a bit odd currently: changing the bandages may result in worsening the healing, and once you've gotten the best healing property of a wound you can hope for, further treatment can only make it worse. Instead, the healing properties ought to automatically deteriorate (to a limit) without treatment, and further treatment shouldn't make things worse unless you make a critical failure, like causing it to bleed again).

And you missed burn wounds (happened to a character of mine from cutting branches beside a line of fire for soil preparation: the branches caught fire for some minor injury).

[irontide]

My experiences mirror PALU's. I do still try to treat wounds even if I've received the best treatment result, except if the wound is very bad, simply because the chances to train Physician are relatively hard to come by (well, come by safely).

[koteko]

It's a pity, really. I will continue to use the herbs in hopes that they give a little boost to the attempt (to get green/dark green sooner). But I hoped for some nice wound festering

[caius]

I've never seen infection, but think the current wound system incorporates infection into the color-coded wound status. 

As someone employed IRL in a healthcare field, I have played quite a bit with herbs and wounds.  I've learned that some herbs with no benefit to healing (e.g. clayweed, topical meadsweet) indeed seem to have no effect when used with physician skill to treat wounds (either washing or bandaging).  While others with a topical use (e.g. heather, yarrow, milkweed, nettle) do seem to improve the status of wounds after the physician skill (status moved toward green).

As was mentioned, I too have been frustrated when treating a severe wound (e.g. >10% penalty) that is already green in status worsens the wound and will cause it to bleed.

One additional comment - stacked wounds heal separately and don't tend to interfere with eachother's healing.  That is, if there are several minor cuts in the same location, then each cut heals independently from the others, even if those wounds overlap and each have a different status.  I think poorly-healing wounds might "contaminate" others in the same area.

I'm excited to see what happens when permanent wounds are implemented at some point in the future.  Would infected wounds (red color) prompt a need to amputate a limb?  How many bruises, cuts, or punctures to an eye cause that eye to be lost?

[Bedlam]

I've had influenza and (in old versions) the plague.

Plague was rare and difficult to survive. Not sure if it still exists or if it got removed along the way.

[Dungeon Smash]

i think caius is correct, infection is just modeled as part of the wound healing process.

i'm surprised to hear about influenza and plague - i didn't realize these were ever in the game.

[koteko]

Never got plague, but I think I died of influenza once, probably before 3.4. Most of the times though it goes aways in a few hours, even if I just sleep in a shelter.

[PALU]

My characters have gotten influenza a number of times, which have taken a number of days to wear off, but it hasn't been too bad. This thread is the first I hear about plague, and that's definitely something I don't want my characters to catch

[Salador]

I was wondering what are the conditions for getting influenza?

It only happened to me once- While I was trying to make a cultural tour around the map, some Seal tribe villager decided that he would like to arrive in Kaumo lands (in less than 14 days), and asked me to be his guide. Trek back from the mountainous area to the shore, where I left the raft, then paddle back to Driik lands, where at the entrance of the grand river there was my shelter, resupply and follow the river up into Koivula lands where I left the raft (poor guy pretty much swam all the way here, according to Titanic there's not enough space for two on the raft), and faced the harsh weather, and somewhere in Kiesse I've got influenza. A naked night in a sauna did not help in curing it and even made it a bit worse, but after a second visit to a sage and a night in a warm village cabin it was gone. In the end we managed to get to a Kaumo village on time (2 days left for the quest).. Oh, and when I wanted to return I realised that the river froze, so I had Rudolph the Big Reindeer carry it back

So almost two weeks of exhausting travelling in the Dead month (only sleeping when he couldn't properly stand up) might give you influenza, but a night in the sauna and one with 6 more people and one reindeer in the same room might heal it.

[koteko]

I only got it when travelling not completely "green" for warmth.

[Salador]

Except face (light green) I had dark green for warmth. But it was raining outside when I've got the notice.

[Pengu]

It seems like you get it when you stay out too long in the rain and cold. My survivors usually catch it around winter when making long-haul journeys.

[PALU]

My character just got influenza in the middle of the summer while seriously over dressed (Njerp hunting), so cold definitely isn't required. A sauna when returning to the homestead in the evening and the influenza was cured by the morning. And, by the way, I would have given up the Njerp hunting when getting the influenza due to the "injury" penalty if I hadn't already done so.

[krikkit war robot]

Infections don't exist yet, but it's on the list of development goals.