Stranded Deep - How to cure poisoning?

The guide contains all the ways to cure poisoning, as well as tips on avoiding it. Using the antidote or waiting out are the only ways to survive, but it's not that simple.

Poisoning is one of the worst effects that you can get at the very beginning of the game. A moment of inattention is enough to step on a starfish or touch a poisonous fish. The problem is that the antidote requires scarce ingredients and it may not be possible to produce it right from the start. However, this does not mean a certain end to the game, although it is very dangerous.
Immediately after poisoning, our health begins to decline and can cause death. You can recognize the poisoning effect by the green screen when you encounter a poisonous creature, a rash on your hand after checking your watch and by the new status in the last tab on the watch display:

Antidote for poisoning

The only cure for poisoning is an antidote made from a plant called Pipi. Unfortunately, even if you find it on your island, remember that once a plant has been picked it does not respawn itself anymore. For this reason, it is best to plant it in a pot and start growing as soon as you find the Pipi. Planting it in a pot will give you an infinite amount. When playing on Xbox, you need two, and on PC, you need one Pipi plant to create the antidote. So if you have the right stock for your version of the game, you can feel secure.

How to find a Pipi plant?

If you have little health left and you don't have a plant, you can always go on an excursion and search the nearby islands. Inactivity at the time of poisoning may end the game. The Pipi plant is easy to overlook as it is small and green, which makes it blend in with the grass.

Due to its appearance and small size, it is easiest to look for it during the day. Some people recommend searching at night because Pipi is slightly illuminated. However, knowing the appearance of this plant, you will have no problem recognizing it at any time of the day.
Usually, it is located right next to the beach on the grass, so carefully walking around should be enough. It is possible but rare to find 1-2 plants on your starting island, so you likely need to explore the nearby islands.

Pipi can be planted in a pot, so if you find them without poisoning effect, treat it as one of the most important things to do in the game. Having a supply in a pot, you don't have to worry about poisonous creatures.

Can you wait out the poisoning?

Poisoning lasts for 3 days. This is the time when you will lose most or all of your health depending on how you play. Don't assume you can always wait out the poisoning. Whenever you can, load the last save or start preparing an antidote. However, if you have the last save after poisoning and the antidote is unavailable, you must follow a few important rules:

You must have a full hunger and hydration indicator at all times.
Stock up, catch fish, cook and collect water in all possible ways. It is extremely important to keep all ratios almost at their maximum level. As soon as one square falls, replenish it immediately. This will slow down the loss of health caused by poisoning.

Avoid other negative effects and fighting with animals
During this time, you need to avoid any further negative effects. If you accidentally get diarrhea or have a stroke, you will lose a lot of water immediately. This may cause you to run out of water, leading to death. If you survive, after 3 days you will only have 1 health square, so each additional injury condemns you to certain death. Avoid clashing with predators, even those seemingly harmless, because every percent of your health counts.
This is a good time to let go of risky expeditions.

Don't save and load the game
Only the last save is available in the game. For this reason, remember not to save the game after poisoning. However, if it happens, do not save the game again, e.g. one day after poisoning. In this way, you reduce your time to react in the event of a need to reload.
Additionally, saving and loading the game restores the poison effect counter, but not your health. So if you load the game 2 days after getting poisoned, you start over and have to survive for another 3 days. However, your health will not allow you to do so, so you are doomed.

Sleep as soon as possible
Check the game time often and wait for 6:00 PM. This is the time when you can go to bed, so don't wait even a minute later. Your health stops depleting only when you are sleeping, so you have to take advantage of this. If you stay awake for two days, you have no chance of surviving without the antidote. It is unknown how long your character will sleep, but the longer the better. It is likely that your activity during the day can have an impact on how long you sleep, so you'd better not stand idle. However, many people say that sleep duration is purely random.

Be sure to follow the above recommendations, to have a good chance of survival. Ignoring any point may result in ending the game. It doesn't matter if you have permanent death mode turned on, because this mode simply deletes the last save. In a regular game, you can also end the game and then have to start all over again.
 

Prevention of poisoning

Prevention is always the most important thing. By following the rules below, you don't have to worry about being poisoned and you will avoid prematurely ending the game. You should be cautious from the very beginning of the game, because poisonous creatures are on your starting island.

Frequent saves

The easiest way to protect yourself against poisoning is to save the game regularly. End every journey and simple actions by saving the game. It would be a pity if for example, after an hour of collecting wood, something bad happened and then you have to load the last save, losing your progress. Therefore, build a shelter on each island and use it as often as possible. I know how tempting it is to explore a new island, but it should start with a save.
When sailing to a new place, it is best to go straight away with the necessary materials to build a shelter. If you don’t have materials, do not go exploring. Collect the necessary resources from the closest possible places and only after saving, you can freely explore.

Be careful of anything that can poison you

Starting on the left: Snake, Lionfish, Sea Snake, Sea Urchin, Crown of Thorns Starfish.

Remember these creatures very well. Some of them won't be interested in you, and in the case of a starfish - they don't even move. Pay attention to where you run and where you swim, and you will minimize the risk to almost zero. If you hear a snake when you are moving around the island, immediately run in the opposite direction, preferably by jumping from time to time. It is recommended to only fight these creatures from a distance, or else it could end badly for you.