// dayz disease

Silicosis (dust lung)

Breathing dust outside in a sandstorm on Nasdara without a dust mask or gas mask.

Heals by itself

~15–19 min

Out of the storm, with an immune system above ~35 %.

Without a mask

~4 min

In a full storm until you are short of breath.

Medicine

Vitamins only

And only when your immune system is weak.

Silicosis is dust from a sandstorm in your lungs; the game counts it as agents, up to 1000. Out in a full storm without a mask it builds up by ~2.6 per second; in shelter it clears again at 0.9 per second — but only while your immune system is above ~35 % and you are conscious.

Stages

How the disease runs in the game, stage by stage: when it starts, what it does, and whether it still heals.

Dust in the lungs
heals by itself
from 1 agent (of 1000)
Symptoms
- Coughing
- Heavy breathing
From 200 agents you breathe heavily now and then — every ~25 s at first, up to every ~3 s at 1000. The coughing and squinting in the storm come from the storm itself.
Out of the storm it clears at 0.9 agents per second, as long as your immune system is above ~35 % and you are conscious.
Full storm, no mask: ~4 min.
Short of breath
heals by itself
from 600 agents
Symptoms
- Heavy breathing
- Stamina runs out fast
- Coughing
- Losing health without being hurt
Your stamina drains 1.3× as fast and refills at half speed. From 700 agents you lose health — up to 0.4 per second — but only while the dust is still rising.
Out of the storm the health loss stops at once; you are back below this stage within ~4 min and clear after ~11–15 min.
Full storm, no mask: ~1.3 min more.
Choking on dust
heals by itself
from 800 agents
Symptoms
- Vision darkens in waves
- Passing out
- Losing health without being hurt
- Heavy breathing
- Stamina runs out fast
Your vision darkens in waves and you black out for 5–10 s every 1–2 min. The health loss of the stage before goes on while the dust is still rising.
Out of the storm: back below this stage in ~4 min, lungs clear after ~15–19 min. Nothing clears while you are unconscious.

How to get rid of it

No medicine helps. Get out of the storm and wait: your lungs clear within about 15 to 20 minutes as long as your immune system is above about a third. Multivitamins only help when it is weaker.