Every Med Explained (Bleeds, Fractures, Surgery and Painkillers)

Tarkov’s medical system is deeper than most players realize.

New players often:

• Waste durability on the wrong items
• Panic-heal inefficiently
• Bring the wrong combination of meds
• Ignore animation timing
• Misunderstand surgery mechanics

Even experienced players sometimes overlook hidden stats like heal-per-animation caps, bleed durability costs, or the real difference between CMS and Surv12.

This guide breaks down every core medical item in Escape from Tarkov (excluding stims) and explains how to build a smarter, more efficient healing setup.

Healing Kits – Understanding the Core Stats

When you inspect a med kit, you see:

• Total durability (HP pool)
• Use time (full animation)
• Bleed removal cost
• Status effects

What you don’t see clearly:

• Maximum HP healed per animation
• How bleed removal consumes durability
• That status effects are removed only at the END of animation

If you cancel the animation early, the bleed or fracture will NOT be removed.

This is critical.

Salewa – The Reliable Standard

• 400 durability
• 3-second use time
• Heals up to 85 HP per animation
• Stops light + heavy bleeds

The biggest strength of the Salewa?

It fully restores a thorax from near-zero HP in one animation.

If you get hit with an 80-damage round to the chest, Salewa gets you back to full in 3 seconds. IFAC and AFAK do not.

This is why many PvP-focused players prefer Salewa early wipe.

AFAK and IFAC – Compact & Efficient

Both:

• 3-second use time
• 1-slot size
• Remove radiation exposure
• Stop light & heavy bleeds

Key differences:

These are space-efficient but require multiple animations to fully restore thorax.

Radiation removal may become extremely important in future events.

Car First Aid Kit – Budget Hero

• 220 durability
• Heals 70 HP per use
• Stops light bleeds only
• Cannot stop heavy bleeds

Cheap, solid early-wipe option.

If running this, bring heavy bleed stoppers.

AI-2 (Cheese) – Emergency Only

• 100 durability
• 2-second use time
• Heals 50 HP
• Cannot stop bleeds

Fast and lightweight, but limited.

Useful for topping off small damage or early-game scav kits.

Grizzly – The All-In-One Solution

• 1800 durability
• Fixes: light bleed, heavy bleed, fractures
• Removes radiation
• Sometimes removes concussion
• 5-second use time (can animation cancel for healing)

This is the most versatile med in Tarkov.

Why it’s powerful:

• One 5-second animation can remove multiple status effects at once.
• Extremely high durability.
• Cost-efficient long term.

Downside: 5 seconds is dangerous for heavy bleeds.

That’s why many players pair Grizzly with a fast heavy bleed stopper.

If you’re serious about survival consistency, optimized loadouts and survival routes matter just as much as meds. Consider an EFT Any Raid Bundle to streamline progression and reduce learning friction.

Bandages – Stop Wasting Durability

Army Bandage (Best Choice)

• 2-second use
• 2 uses
• Stops light bleeds

Better than Aseptic Bandage (single use).

Never waste 30–50 durability on your main med for light bleeds if you can avoid it.

Heavy Bleed Stoppers – Critical Survival Tool

Heavy bleeds will kill you fast.

Options:

Best choice: CALOK-B

• 3 uses
• Fast use time
• Most efficient

Never rely on your med kit to stop heavy bleeds unless desperate.

Splints – Fracture Management

Basic Splint

• 1 use
• 5-second use
• Very cheap

ALU Splint

• 3 uses
• Efficient mid-game option

TIGR Splint (7 Uses)

• Best long-term value
• Ideal for secure container
• Superior to ALU splint in value per use

Broken legs without painkillers = immobility.

Broken legs with painkillers = mobility, but stamina penalties.

Surgery Kits – CMS vs Surv12

If a limb is blacked, you MUST use surgery before healing.

CMS:

• Faster
• Lighter
• Cheaper

Surv12:

• More HP restored
• More uses
• Heavier

HP restoration stacks negatively. Multiple surgeries reduce maximum HP further.

Surgery skill reduces penalty and speeds up use time.

If you’re leveling efficiently and want to accelerate progression beyond survival mechanics, EFT Level Boosting helps unlock trader tiers faster.

Painkillers – Mobility Is Life

Painkillers remove pain effect and allow movement on broken/black limbs.

Golden Star

• 350 sec duration
• 7-second use
• Restores hydration & energy
• Removes radiation
• Levels metabolism

Best long-duration option.

Vaseline

• 300 sec duration
• 6-second use
• Slight hydration cost

Balanced alternative.

Ibuprofen

• 280 sec duration
• 5-second use
• High hydration drain

Efficient, craftable.

Analgin (Budget)

• 80 sec duration
• 3-second use
• High hydration drain

Fast and cheap emergency option.

Always bring water if running hydration-draining painkillers.

Radiation and Concussion Notes

Currently limited in gameplay impact, but:

• IFAC
• AFAK
• AI-2
• Grizzly
• Golden Star

All interact with radiation exposure.

Grizzly may remove concussion (inconsistently).

Future events may make these mechanics critical.

Smart Medical Loadout Examples

Budget Kit

• Car Med
• Army Bandage
• CAT
• Basic Splint
• CMS
• Analgin

Balanced PvP Kit

• Salewa or AFAK
• CALOK-B
• Army Bandage
• ALU Splint
• CMS
• Ibuprofen

Advanced Kit

• Grizzly
• CALOK-B
• TIGR Splint
• CMS or Surv12
• Golden Star

If you’re starting fresh or struggling with early wipe economy, the EFT Tarkov Starter Pack can help stabilize your stash quickly.

Arena Players – Don’t Ignore This

Arena fights amplify:

• Thorax damage
• Bleed management
• Fast animation efficiency

If you’re climbing competitive modes, optimized loadouts combined with EFT Arena Rating progression can accelerate your rank climb significantly.

Final Coaching Advice

Healing in Tarkov is not about bringing everything.

It’s about:

• Minimizing animation risk
• Preserving durability
• Managing weight
• Layering status removals efficiently
• Avoiding downtime in fights

The players who survive consistently are the ones who understand their medical kit as well as their weapon.

Master your meds.

Win more fights.

Survive more raids.

And always plan your healing before you load in.