Parasites is a status effect in Permafrost that you pick up from eating raw food, and it quietly drags down everything that relies on stamina. It sits in your effects grid as a red icon with the line “Parasites from raw food consume nutrients. Need medication,” and it cuts your Stamina Gain Rate by 30 percent until you clear it.
Quick answer: Open your inventory with TAB, right-click a Moonshine bottle and choose CONSUME. Parasites drops off the effects grid immediately.
Where to check your status effects
Press TAB to open the inventory, then look at the left panel under STATISTICS. The grid labelled EFFECTS holds every buff and penalty that is currently active. Hover an icon and the game shows its name, its description, the exact numbers it changes, and a remedy line telling you how to get rid of it.
Good effects sit in the left block of the grid and penalties sit on the right. This is the first place to look whenever your character suddenly feels slower to recover between sprints or swings.
What causes Parasites
You get Parasites from eating raw Meat. The raw item carries the tooltip “Uncooked flesh from the hunt.” and restores only 30 Hunger, so it is tempting to eat on the move after a kill. Do that and you risk the parasites penalty instead.
Cook the meat first. A lit campfire turns raw Meat into a Dish, which fills 90 Hunger and carries no risk of parasites. No cooked Dish has been seen to cause the effect.
Keep raw Meat off your 8-slot hotbar so you cannot eat it by accident. The only raw Meat you actually need to carry early on is a single piece for the dog rescue in Bone Cave.
How to cure Parasites with Moonshine
The remedy line on the parasites tooltip reads “Use medication or alcohol.” Moonshine is the fastest option that has been seen to work, and the cure is instant.
Neither rest nor food clears the effect: it was still present after sleeping through the night and eating, and remained for an entire day-and-night cycle. Alcohol was the sole way to remove it.
Where to find Moonshine and other cures
Moonshine (COLD RES. 20) turns up loose on tables in Horizon’s kitchen building and in the trader’s shop, and inside suitcases and on crates at abandoned camps. Both the General Trader and Robyn in Horizon sell it for 10 Bucks.
Vodka and Beer count as alcohol, and traders also offer an item named Alcohol. Since the remedy description says “medication,” other drinks may work as well, but Moonshine is the only drink confirmed to remove parasites directly.
The medical items you come across early are Herbs, Bandage, Makeshift Bandage, Car Medkit, Insulin Vial and Surgical Spirit. None of these is used to treat parasites. Surgical Spirit in particular shows a negative HEALTH value on its tooltip, which marks it as a crafting ingredient for the Bandage rather than something to drink.
The Lightheaded trade-off
The cure applies LIGHTHEADED, with the description “Alcohol causes dizziness. Will pass with time… just slow down with the booze.” Its effects include “Body Warmth Loss Rate -20 %”; the listed remedy is “Wait to wear off.”
The cure affects your warmth loss rate until the dizziness wears off, so avoid taking it just before a cold outing. Deal with parasites near shelter or a heat source, and head out after the dizziness has passed.
Every early status effect and what it changes
| Effect | What it changes | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy | Peak condition, enhanced strength and capability | None listed |
| Full Belly | Stamina Gain Rate +20 %, Maximum Stamina +50 | None listed |
| Weary | Stamina Gain Rate -15 % | Rest |
| Lightheaded | Body Warmth Loss Rate -20 % | Wait to wear off |
| Parasites | Stamina Gain Rate -30 % | Use medication or alcohol |
Healthy
Healthy is the default good state, described as “Peak physical condition. Enhanced strength and capability.” It is what you want showing in the left block of the grid with nothing dragging it down.
Full Belly
Full Belly has the description “A well-fed body heals itself. Energy recovers faster.” While active, it provides Stamina Gain Rate +20 percent and Maximum Stamina +50, raising the stamina meter from its normal 375 to 425. Eat until your Hunger meter is high to activate it.
Weary
Weary is described as “Light fatigue slows recovery. Some rest is needed.” It applies a 15 percent cut to Stamina Gain Rate and appears after a long stretch awake. Its remedy is Rest, so sleep in a bed you have claimed to shake it off.
Why the stamina penalty matters
Sprinting, jumping, drawing your bow and swinging tools all consume stamina. Parasites reduce stamina regeneration by 30 percent, leaving you waiting longer to recover after chases, climbs and fights; boars may charge during that downtime. Remove the effect before hunting or taking a long trek through the cold.
Permafrost remains in early access, and updates may alter these effect values and remedies. Until then, cook your meat, save a bottle of Moonshine, and treat parasites as soon as they appear instead of enduring the stamina loss.
