What does it mean when you get random chills

Why Do I Have Cold Chills? 6 Causes of Body Chills Without Fever

Written by Stephanie Booth

Flu

Your body may use chills to boost its core temperature and kill off the flu virus you've caught. This is why fever and chills often happen at the same time. Although you may feel like you are freezing, your body temperature inside could be turned up as high as 104 F.

If flu is the cause of your chills, you might also have symptoms like:

Sore throat or cough
Runny or stuffed-up nose
Muscle aches
Fatigue
Headache
Nausea
Throwing up
Diarrhea

Most of the time, the flu goes away on its own within 2 weeks. During that time, you should rest and drink lots of fluids. Children under the age of 5, adults over 65, and anyone with a long-term health issue should see a doctor right away.

Infection

Just like with the flu virus, your body can turn on the chills in response to other infections. This may help your immune system kick in faster and work better.

Chills are a common symptom of infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTI), and malaria.

Besides chills, an infection can also cause symptoms like:

Fever
Coughing
Sore throat or mouth sores
Stuffed-up nose
Shortness of breath
Stiff neck
Pain or burning when you pee
Diarrhea
Throwing up
Belly pain
Redness, soreness, or swelling in one area

See your doctor if you have these symptoms. You may need medication to treat the infection.

Infection Due to a Kidney Stone

You might get chills because of an infection that starts when you have a kidney stone.

Sometimes minerals and salts stick together to form a hard mass inside your kidney called a kidney stone. This is more likely to happen if you don't drink enough water each day, eat a diet that's high in protein, or have a high body mass index (BMI.)

If the kidney stone irritates or blocks your urinary tract, it can cause an infection, which could cause chills.

Other symptoms you might get with kidney stones are:

Pain in your side, back, belly, or groin
Pain when you pee
Pink, red, or brown urine
Urgent need to pee
Pee more or less than you usually do
Cloudy urine that smells funny

Call your doctor right away. If your stone doesn't pass on its own, you may need surgery or a treatment that can break it into small pieces.

Hypothermia

If your body loses heat faster than it can make it, your body temperature will start to drop. Under normal conditions, it should be around 98.6 F. If it drops below 95 F, you have what's called hypothermia. Your organs can't function like they should when they're that cold. Chills are your body's attempt to try to warm back up.

Shivering is the first sign of hypothermia. Other symptoms to watch for are:

Slurred speech
Slowed, shallow breathing
Low energy
Weakened pulse
Feeling clumsy
Confusion
Bright red, cold skin (in babies)

If you think you or someone you know has hypothermia, call 911. Medical treatment may be needed to raise your body temperature back to normal levels.

Underactive Thyroid

Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck. It makes a hormone that helps your body stay warm and keeps your organs working like they should. If your thyroid doesn't make enough of this hormone, you have an underactive thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism.

Besides chills without fever, symptoms can include:

Fatigue
Dry skin
Feeling absent-minded
Depression
Constipation

There's no cure for hypothyroidism, but you can control it with medicine. Your doctor might prescribe a daily pill that supplies the hormone your thyroid no longer makes.

Hypoglycemia

You get a condition called hypoglycemia when your blood sugar drops to an unsafe level. This is most likely to happen if you have diabetes and your food and medicine get out of balance. Insulin and the oral diabetes medications called sulfonylureas are the most likely to cause hypoglycemia.

Although it's rare, people without diabetes can get hypoglycemia, too.

If you have hypoglycemia, you can have body chills without fever. Other common symptoms are:

Anxiety
Trembling
Weakness
Clammy skin
Sweating
Hunger
Nausea
Feeling sleepy

If you catch hypoglycemia early, you can treat it by eating a simple sugar like glucose tablets or gel, hard candies, or juice or sugar soda. If your hypoglycemia is so severe that you become unconscious, a friend or family member that you're with can inject you with glucagon, a hormone that helps control blood sugar.

If you are at high risk for hypoglycemia, you and your family should know how to recognize and treat it. Always let your doctor know if you think you have hypoglycemia, even if you don't have diabetes. If left unchecked, it could cause you to have a seizure or pass out.

What Causes Random Chills But No Fever Health Symptoms

Unbothered

Like Keke Palmer, I Have PCOS. Her Pregnancy Reveal Gave Me Hope

“You have a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS),” confirms my GP. I’d waited twenty-one years to hear those words. “Do you pl

by Vanessa Haye

Beauty

Expensive Hair Treatments Didn’t Fix My Hair Loss

I have a habit of crying in the shower. The flat I live in lacks internal walls so it is just one long room with separate areas demarcated by rugs and chan

by Hannah Turner

Deals

Get A Prime-Exclusive 20% Off This R29-Approved Sauna Blanket

Super Sale Alert: Get 20% off everything from HigherDOSE on Amazon with a Prime-exclusive coupon, now through tomorrow, October 12, 11:59 p. m. EST. The

by Mercedes Viera

Amazon

Put Your Aching Muscles Out Of Their Misery With These Prime Earl...

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent the last two years developing some serious aches and pains (she writes, hunched over her laptop on the c

by Charlotte Lewis

Unbothered

I’m A Black Woman Living With Body Dysmorphia — & It’...

Trigger warning: this piece references eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and sensitive content regarding body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). I was 20 years

by Nia Shumake

Wellness

Ritual’s Bestselling Synbiotic+ Is A Superpill For Gut Health

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed my gut health has been in less than stellar shape. No matter what I eat, I’m consistently gassy and bloat

by Jinnie Lee

Most Wanted

True Story: I’m 35 & Finally (Maybe) Trading Single-Use Pad...

It’s true: I’m a few weeks shy of my 35th birthday and still use single-use menstrual pads. I don’t know if it was the trauma of that fir

by Charlotte Lewis

Hot Girl Somos

Poletic Justice Instructor Mona Marie Is De-Gentrifying Pole Dance

Welcome to Don’t Yuck My Yummm, Unbothered’s sexual wellness column and digital diary aimed at destigmatizing Black womxn’s intimate experi

by Kourtney Pope

Menstruation

I Ditched The Menstrual Cup For The Disc & I’m Never Going ...

Deal alert: Hello Period., a brand mentioned in this story, is offering 15% off your first menstrual disc purchase with the code HELLODISC at checkout. Whe

by Jinnie Lee

Most Wanted

Alleviate Your Period Pain With These Surprisingly Sexy Solutions

If you’re like me (or the large percent of people who suffer from menstrual pain), the week your period arrives is pretty damn miserable. Every wakin

by Charlotte Lewis

Hot Girl Somos

Si Hay Sol, Hay Panza: How I’m Reclaiming Summer as a Fat Brown Babe

When I was about 8 years old, my grandparents enrolled me in swimming lessons. I went to the community pool, excited and suited up in a one-piece bathing s

by Virgie Tovar

Unbothered

Black Women Have BEEN On The Frontlines Of The Abortion Rights Fi...

On Friday June 24, 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned, restricting abortion access across the country. That’s the painful reality. I’m not here to fearmo

by Brea Baker

Why there is chills and what to do about it

November 28, 2018 Likbez Health

If you are shivering, make sure it is not fatal.

Chills is a physiological reaction of the body to a spasm of superficial blood vessels. Most often, fine shivering is caused by cold. However, chills also have much more unpleasant causes.

Why there is chills at a temperature

After hypothermia, the most common cause of chills is fever. Doctors define this condition as an increase in temperature to 37.7 ° C and above. nine0003

Fever itself can be a symptom of a huge number of diseases, including bacterial infections and various inflammatory processes in the internal organs. However, most often we encounter it when we fall ill with ARVI or the flu.

The mechanism of chills in fever is simple. Trying to overcome the infection, the body raises the temperature - this is detrimental to many viruses and bacteria. To speed up the warm-up and keep the heat inside, superficial blood vessels spasm and trembling starts. Therefore, when the temperature rises rapidly, the person looks pale and is desperately shivering. nine0003

Why there is chill without fever

1. Cold

It is the cold that causes blood vessels to contract to keep heat inside the body. In response, the body begins to intensively contract and relax the muscles in order to warm up.

You don't have to jump out into the cold half-dressed to get chilly. A sudden change in temperature is enough (for example, when you go from a hot street into a room with a working air conditioner) or a slight gust of wind when you are wearing wet clothes. nine0003

2. Taking medications

Some medications, including over-the-counter medications, cause excessive sweating and chills. These side effects are written in the instructions for use.

Combination or overdose of drugs can also cause shivering.

By the way, for this reason, elderly people often get chills. They take an impressive range of all kinds of drugs, not really reading the instructions.

3. Extreme physical activity

When you run a marathon, swim a kilometer, or do your best in any other way, your muscles generate a lot of heat. Because of this, the body heats up and begins to cool down with the help of sweating.

The temperature difference between the skin and the surrounding air often causes chills. Most often, athletes get chills on too hot (when the body is actively sweating) or too cold days.

4. Endocrine disorders

Constant feeling of cold and associated chills are common symptoms of hypothyroidism (reduced production of thyroid hormones). Due to a lack of hormones, the body cannot effectively regulate temperature. Therefore, it tries to retain heat by spasming the subcutaneous blood vessels and starting to shiver. nine0003

5. Menstruation and menopause

Significant hormonal fluctuations also occur in these situations.

6. Hypoglycemia

This is the name given to a sudden drop in blood sugar levels. It may occur for various reasons. For example, you overexerted yourself physically or psychologically. Or sit on a too rigid diet, in which the body does not have enough glucose. Or you suffer from diabetes, but your doctor made a mistake with the dosage of the medicines.

With hypoglycemia, we experience acute weakness, including muscle weakness. Exhausted muscles begin to tremble, chills appear. nine0003

Hypoglycemia is a dangerous condition. If the blood sugar level continues to drop, it can lead to damage to the nervous system up to epileptic convulsions, loss of consciousness and coma.

7. Malnutrition

It has the same effect as hypoglycemia. But in this case, muscle weakness is caused by a lack of not only glucose in the blood, but also other nutrients.

If you have regular chills due to diet or weight loss, be sure to see your doctor. After all, after the chills come a breakdown, hair loss, inability to conceive, insomnia, depression and even anorexia, which can be fatal. You need to normalize your diet as soon as possible. nine0003

8. Stress and emotional overstrain

Stress increases the level of adrenaline. Among other things, this hormone causes spasm of superficial vessels and, as a result, trembling. That is why people “already shake” when they are angry or very worried.

How to treat chills

Given the variety of causes, there is no general treatment algorithm. It is necessary to act depending on the situation:

If you are cold, drink hot tea, try to warm up and relax. This will remove the spasm. nine0070
If you have chills due to an infection and fever, see your doctor and follow his advice.
If you are overextended physically or emotionally, allow yourself a few minutes of relaxation: take a breath, calm down.
If you regularly experience chills, see your doctor to rule out hormonal imbalances, developing diabetes, or nutritional deficiencies.

Severe chills with colds and flu: main causes and treatment

Causes

Most often, chills are observed against the background of fever ³, which accompanies almost all infectious diseases ⁴ is a universal reaction of the body ^4. When microbes and viruses penetrate it, the body "defends itself" by raising the body temperature ^2.3 .

Since more heat is produced during muscle contractions ⁶ , which means that the more pronounced the chill, the higher the body temperature ² . Slight chilliness is characteristic of 38 - 39 ⁰ C, "teeth chattering" and severe trembling - for fever in the range of 39 ⁰ - 40 ⁰ C. Terrific chills, covering the whole body, occur at temperatures above 40 ⁰ C ^3.6 .

Chilliness and fever can be disturbing in various infectious diseases, such as colds, flu ³ or when a focus of purulent inflammation forms in any organ, for example, in the heart, kidneys, pleura, lungs or veins ⁷ . Symptoms are caused by pyrogens, or substances that can affect the thermoregulatory center in the brain. Pyrogens can be biologically active substances released by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens ³ .

Sometimes it is not infectious agents that act as pyrogens, but substances that are formed in the body itself during tissue damage and decay - inflammation, bruises, hemorrhages ^2.3 .

Even if you feel cold, trembling in the body, and the thermometer shows a temperature above 37 ⁰ C, the cause may not be inflammation or even an infection, but the following conditions:

Nervous strain. With neurocirculatory dystonia (neurosis), chills often begin in the evening or at night. It can be provoked by emotional stress ¹⁶ .
Hormonal imbalance. Chilling in women on the background of elevated temperature (37-38 ⁰ C) is a common symptom of menopause ^3.7 or premenstrual syndrome ¹⁸ .
Diseases of the blood. Symptoms resembling infectious fever with shivering may be a sign of hemolytic anemia or lymphoma ¹⁴ .
Hyperthermia. Overheating of the body occurs after intense physical overstrain, if the ambient temperature is above 26.7 ⁰ C ¹⁴ . Under such conditions, heat transfer is disturbed, and excess heat accumulates in the body ⁵ . Overheating affects athletes participating in competitions in a country with an unusual climate, while not observing the correct drinking regimen, as well as obese people ¹⁴ .

What causes chills without fever?

Chilling can also occur against the background of normal and even low body temperature ^1,2,14 . During hypothermia - for example, during a long stay in the cold or immersion in cold water, ^1.2 - the vessels constrict so that the body does not lose heat. For example, trained swimmers with enough body fat to retain heat typically don't feel shivering in cold water. But thin people with low levels of physical activity in similar conditions quickly lose blood circulation, develop severe trembling, turning into chills, and body temperature may even drop ¹⁴ .

Other causes of chills without fever include:

hypoglycemia - low blood glucose - in patients with diabetes ⁹ ;
hypothyroidism - deficiency of thyroid hormones ¹⁵ ;
hypertensive crisis - a sharp and significant rise in blood pressure ⁸ .

Shaking without fever may occur if there is a long period of time between doses of antipyretic drugs.

Learn more

What does it mean when you get random chills

Why Do I Have Cold Chills? 6 Causes of Body Chills Without Fever

In this Article

Flu

Infection

Infection Due to a Kidney Stone

Hypothermia

Underactive Thyroid

Hypoglycemia

What Causes Random Chills But No Fever Health Symptoms

Why there is chills and what to do about it

Why there is chills at a temperature

Why there is chill without fever

1. Cold

2. Taking medications

3. Extreme physical activity

4. Endocrine disorders

5. Menstruation and menopause

6. Hypoglycemia

7. Malnutrition

8. Stress and emotional overstrain

How to treat chills

Severe chills with colds and flu: main causes and treatment

Causes

What causes chills without fever?