a meat ration! my character is hungry, but i'm not going to waste a piece of non-perishable food. instead i'll eat a chunk of goblin.

uh oh. most monsters' meat has a chance of being contaminated, goblins included. now i'm sick: sickness will go away eventually, but not before possibly lowering one of my stats.

a potion of healing will cure my sickness right away, but potions, like scrolls, are unidentified at the beginning of a new game, and there are some nasty varieties: poison, paralysis, degeneration. potions of healing, however, are one of the most common types, so odds are that either the white or silvery potion is the one i'm looking for. i'll take a guess and try white, using the q key (for "quaff").

the message "you feel better" indicates that my guess was correct: my sickness is cured! potions of healing cure a range of maladies, including sickness and poison. they also restore a tiny amount of hp: useful in some emergencies, but usually not to be relied on. potions of heal wounds - maybe the silvery potions? - provide far more hp.