Why do i have chills all the time
Why Do I Have Cold Chills? 6 Causes of Body Chills Without Fever
Written by Stephanie Booth
In this Article
- Flu
- Infection
- Infection Due to a Kidney Stone
- Hypothermia
- Underactive Thyroid
- Hypoglycemia
A walk down a cold, windy street can send a shivery tingle up and down your body, but so can some health conditions, like the flu, kidney stones, or an underactive thyroid.
You get chills when the muscles in your body squeeze and relax to try to make heat. This sometimes happens because you're cold, but it can also be an attempt by your immune system -- the body's defense against germs -- to fight off an infection or illness.
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.
5 Reasons Why You Might Have the Chills
Are chills serious? Shivering and goose bumps can accompany a wide range of conditions, from a too-cold environment to cancer.
Maintaining our core temperature is one of the body’s most basic functions, and when that temperature is off — or when our body thinks it’s off — we get the chills.
“Chills occur when the muscles contract and relax in order to make heat,” says Rose Taroyan, MD, a family medicine physician at Keck Medicine of USC and clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “This occurs when you are cold, but it can also be your body’s defense mechanism in fighting an infection.”
Everyone knows the sensation of getting the chills when your environment is too cold.
That’s usually a signal to put on more layers or turn up the heat. But there are many underlying medical conditions that can cause them, too. Read on for some common — and not so common — causes of chills.
1. You have a viral or bacterial infection.
When chills are accompanied by other symptoms, such as fever, body aches or fatigue, they’re more likely associated with a systemic infection, such as flu or pneumonia.
“Chills boost your body’s core temperature when your immune system attempts to fight off infection,” Taroyan explains. “Your body temperature increases, even though you might feel cold. If you have a viral infection, you will usually notice other symptoms along with chills, such as sore throat, cough, headache, fatigue and muscle aches. Most of the time, it can be self-limiting and will resolve within 2 weeks. It’s important to get plenty of rest and increase your fluid intake.”
2. You have low blood sugar.
Although many people feel a bit shaky and irritable when they need to eat, true hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, most often occurs in people who have diabetes.
“One of the symptoms of hypoglycemia is a feeling of shakiness, which may mimic chills,” Taroyan says. “Hypoglycemia requires immediate treatment to get blood sugar levels back to normal.”
Defined as blood glucose of less than 70 milligrams per deciliter, hypoglycemia can cause a variety of other symptoms, including sweating, confusion, a rapid heartbeat, blurry vision, lightheadedness and drowsiness.
If you have diabetes and you notice these symptoms, follow the “15-15” rule: Have 15 grams of simple carbs, such as a glucose tablet, juice, honey or hard candy, and check your blood glucose again in 15 minutes. Then eat a meal, but don’t overeat, or your blood sugar will spike.
3. You’re having a panic attack.
Chills can occur if you have a profound or intense emotional reaction to a situation, according to Taroyan. “Emotions that might cause chills include fear or anxiety,” she says.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, nearly 30% of all adults will experience an anxiety disorder during their lifetime.
A panic attack can cause a combination of physical as well as psychological symptoms, including chills, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, dizziness and chest pain. Because of the severity of the symptoms, a panic attack sometimes causes people to think they’re having a heart attack.
If you’ve never had a panic attack before, seek medical attention. If you’ve been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, psychotherapy (“talk” therapy) and medication can help.
4. You have malaria.
Symptoms of malaria, a disease spread by infected mosquitos, can mimic those of a cold or flu. In addition to chills, they can include fever, sweats, head and body aches, nausea and fatigue. A simple blood test can identify the presence of the malaria parasite, but since malaria is relatively rare in the United States, your doctor might not immediately test for it. If you’ve traveled to regions where the disease is common, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, parts of India and parts of Central and South America within the last 12 months, be sure to mention it when you’re being evaluated, even if you took antimalarial medications.
5. You have leukemia.
Chills can also be a sign of blood cancers, including leukemia. Symptoms of leukemia may include swelling of the lymph nodes, along with fever, chills, fatigue, loss of appetite, night sweats, abdominal pain and recurring infections. If you have a fever and chills that just won’t go away, see your doctor, in case it’s something more serious.
Having the chills may be nothing more than the body’s attempt to warm you up, but if they’re accompanied by other symptoms, that’s the time to seek medical attention. “Please schedule an appointment with your primary care physician for further evaluation,” Taroyan advises.
Topics
chills
Dr. Rose Taroyan
fever
hypoglycemia
leukemia
panic attack
Tina Donvito
Tina Donvito is a freelance writer covering health, culture, travel and parenting.
The doctor told why goosebumps appear and run through the body - Moscow 24, 07/08/2020
July 08, 2020, 14:54 and goosebumps, according to the Arguments and Facts website.
She noted that in most cases this phenomenon is completely harmless. Most often, goosebumps appear as a result of a reflex to danger. This effect is a human atavism, and animals are thus protected.
"Most often, such a reaction is observed in response to some external stimuli, and goosebumps appear on their own, unexpectedly and not always on time," Shulyaeva said.
She added that the cause of goosebumps is most often an emotional outburst or hypothermia. With a normal reaction, the effect passes without any consequences after a few seconds. At the same time, goosebumps can be evidence of any pathology.
Shulyaeva noted that if they appear for no reason, then this may be a reaction to neurological failures in the body. Thus, the body tries to tell about damage to the nerves or nerve endings.
"Also, among the reasons may be beriberi, the appearance of some neoplasms that compress the nerves. This situation may occur spontaneously and against the background of problems with blood vessels.
In this case, it is recommended to visit a phlebologist for a detailed study of the situation, diagnosis and treatment" Shulyaeva said.
She added that pain or numbness in the extremities that occur after the onset of goosebumps can also be a reason to see a doctor. In addition, the effect of running is considered a deviation from the norm, as if goosebumps ran all over the skin. This may be due to a lack of vitamins or insufficient oxygen supply to tissues.
In addition, one of the reasons is the lack of collagen. In such cases, the skin begins to peel off, irritation begins to appear on it. In this case, you need to adjust your diet, making it more fortified, which a specialist can help with.
Chills and tremors of the extremities can also be masked under the effect of goosebumps. This may indicate problems with the thyroid gland, and therefore it is necessary to consult an endocrinologist. The appearance of goosebumps on the left may indicate the presence of problems with the heart and blood vessels, especially if they last more than 5 minutes and are accompanied by trembling.
If, in addition to the appearance of goosebumps, chronic fatigue, heaviness, swelling or numbness in the legs appear, then it is necessary to undergo a complete medical examination. It is especially worth paying attention to the performance of blood vessels and the presence of plaques in them.
Previously, dermatologist Svetlana Zhaboeva gave recommendations on skin care in case of sunburn. She noted that first of all it is necessary to wash to eliminate sweat and pollution. Then a soothing cream should be applied to the skin.
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Goosebumps or as they say "goosebumps" was experienced by every person when experiencing any emotions, when hypothermia, when being in an uncomfortable position for a long time. If this condition passes quickly, then this is considered the norm. In medicine, the condition when goosebumps or tingling occurs is called paresthesia . It appears in response to irritation of the nerve fibers of the brain or spinal cord. Paresthesia, as a rule, occurs below the place where the irritation occurred.
Paresthesia is of two types:
- temporary or transient occurs against the background of exposure to sensory, temperature or pain factors and disappears after the termination of their action. In this case, paresthesia is not accompanied by other symptoms.
- chronic paresthesia is a consequence of various diseases and may be accompanied by skin pallor, numbness, convulsions, fever, pain syndromes.
With such recurring paresthesia, consultation with a specialist is necessary.
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Goosebumps cause:
- diseases of the spine (osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia, displacement of the vertebrae). Paresthesia occurs in the arms and legs.
- traumatic brain injury. Goosebumps can appear all over the body.
- neuropathies of different localization. Paresthesia is manifested below the site of damage to the nerve fibers.
- cardiovascular diseases. Goosebumps can appear on one side of the body.
- diabetes mellitus. Paresthesia occurs at the fingertips.
- deficiency of vitamins in the body (B, C, D)
- decrease in the level of calcium, magnesium in the blood
- Guillain-Barré syndrome. Paresthesia quickly moves from arms to legs and chest area. Their sensitivity is lost, and the person cannot move.
- herpes zoster. Goosebumps appear in the lumbar region and abdominal cavity.
Bell's palsy. Goosebumps appear on the scalp. - tumors or inflammations of the brain. Paresthesia occurs on the face and hands.
- diseases of the nervous system (neurasthenia, depressive disorders, VVD)
- certain medications (ofloxacin, cycloserine, isoniazid, prothionamide)
- rabies
- multiple sclerosis
- dental diseases (gum disease). Goosebumps appear on the tongue.
- varicose disease
- stroke
- inflammatory diseases (SARS, colds) Goosebumps are caused by fever.
- hormonal changes. In women, it occurs during menstruation, pregnancy, menopause.
- surgical interventions
As we can see from the above, paresthesia can be the result of a huge number of pathologies and diseases. Goosebumps themselves do not carry any danger, but the diseases that caused them should not be ignored, as they can lead to dangerous consequences. If you have goosebumps regularly for no apparent reason and for a long time, you should consult a doctor and undergo an examination.
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Diagnosis and treatment of paresthesia
First of all, a person needs to analyze his own feelings.
If goosebumps appear against the background of emotions or hypothermia, then medical help is not needed. And if paresthesia is accompanied by pain, loss of sensitivity to cold-hot, pallor and numbness of the skin, a decrease in temperature, then in this case it is necessary to consult a doctor. Then you can get rid of paresthesia only by curing the underlying disease.
For diagnosis, the general practitioner first of all interviews and examines the patient. He needs to be told in what place, with what frequency goosebumps appear and what symptoms are accompanied. To identify abnormalities in the body, the following diagnostic methods can be prescribed: blood and urine tests, x-rays of the spine, MRI, computed tomography, ECG, ultrasound of organs, dopplerography, electroencephalogram, electroneuromyography, rheovasography. Based on the collected medical history, the therapist can refer you to a narrow specialist for treatment: a neurologist, cardiologist, neuropathologist, ENT, dentist, who will make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
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