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Condition

Bruises

Updated:

Patient with visible bruising — Medkit is the treatment. Anti-Inflammatory category per Fandom, alongside Fever.

Overview

Bruises is the blunt-trauma diagnosis — patient shows discoloured (purple/blue) bruise graphics without active bleeding. Per Fandom's Treatment Item Table, Bruises is categorised under Anti-Inflammatory alongside Fever, both treated by Medkit and Thermo respectively. The condition is part of the trauma-treatment triangle: Bandages cover Bleeding, Medkit covers Bruises, Ointment covers Rashes/Burns.

Key diagnostic discriminator: bruises show colour change (discolouration) without fluid. Bleeding shows fluid. Confusing the two means wrong-treatment penalty — patient death + 1 of 3 lives lost. Diagnostic accuracy on the trauma triangle matters disproportionately because all three conditions share the 'skin trauma' visual category.

Video Guide

Diagnosis demo video coming soon.

Visual Symptoms & Cues

  • Visible bruise graphics on patient skin (purple/blue discolouration)
  • Sometimes paired with a limp or favoring-the-limb animation
  • No active fluid texture (distinguishes from Bleeding)
  • No raised marks or blistering (distinguishes from Rashes/Burns)

Easy vs Tricky Diagnoses

Pros

  • ✓ Discoloured patches obvious against normal skin tone
  • ✓ Limp animation confirms blunt-trauma rather than skin condition
  • ✓ No fluid present — clean discriminator from Bleeding

Cons

  • ✗ Easy to confuse with Bleeding if you only see 'red marks' — check for fluid presence
  • ✗ Bandages on a bruised patient is wrong-treatment penalty
  • ✗ Multiple bruises in different locations are still one condition (single Medkit application)

At a Glance

At a Glance

Cure
Medkit
Difficulty
easy
First appears
Shift 1

How to Diagnose and Treat

Diagnose first via the visual cue — discoloured (purple/blue) patches on skin, no fluid present. Compare against Bleeding (which has active fluid texture) and Rashes (which has red raised marks, not discolouration). Limp animation is a secondary confirmation.

Once confirmed, pull Medkit from the standard treatment cabinet (free, available from shift start) and apply to the patient. The condition resolves on application.

Do not substitute. Per the trauma-treatment triangle:

- Bandages (Bleeding) on a bruised patient = wrong-treatment penalty

- Ointment (Rashes/Burns) on a bruised patient = wrong-treatment penalty

Wrong treatment kills the patient and costs 1 of 3 lives per Fandom. The trauma triangle has the highest misdiagnosis risk in the game because all three conditions present in the 'skin' category — diagnostic discipline is non-optional.

For team play: Medkit has no special sharing mechanics. Each player pulls from cabinet as needed. The Nurse class (Level 3 +3 inventory slots) or Head Nurse (Base Level +3 slots) can stage multiple Medkits for shifts with multiple Bruise patients in queue.

Patch History

No documented balance changes to the Bruises condition or to the Medkit treatment item. Stable across all updates documented through 2026-06-28.

Frequently Asked Questions

What treats Bruises?
Medkit — single-condition cure. See /wiki/items/medkit for the item-side details.
How do I tell Bruises from Bleeding?
Bruises shows discoloured (purple/blue) patches without fluid. Bleeding shows active blood fluid texture. The fluid presence is the discriminator.
What happens if I apply Bandages to a Bruised patient?
Wrong-treatment penalty per Fandom — patient dies, counts as 1 death out of your 3-life run. Bandages are bleeding-specific.
Can multiple bruises be one condition?
Yes — multiple bruises in different locations are still one Bruises condition. Single Medkit application resolves all of them.
When do Bruises patients first appear?
Shift 1 onwards. Bruises is in the default condition pool from the opening shift.
Is Bruises ever paired with another condition?
Yes — multi-condition patients are common. The diagnostic display shows up to 3 conditions per patient. Treat each in the correct order; Bruises typically resolves cleanly alongside other physical conditions.
What category does Fandom put Bruises in?
Anti-Inflammatory category, alongside Fever (treated by Thermo). The category groups conditions by treatment-mechanism rather than presentation.

Blunt trauma, not lacerations

Bruises shows as darker patches on the patient sprite without active bleeding. Treatment is Medkit — the kit specifically handles blunt-trauma. Bandages (which would intuitively work for any injury) does not treat bruises.

The wrong-item application fails silently — the bruise patches persist until Medkit lands.

The visual distinction from Bleeding

Same body sprite, similar injury areas, different cues. Bleeding shows active red blood flow; bruises show dark patches without flow. Spend the diagnostic beat to confirm before reaching for an item; conflating the two during ambulance waves is a common mistake.

Sources: Sportskeeda items guide.