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28th Jul 2022
The most likely cause of your chills is that you are cold. When your body temperature drops, your muscles contract and relax in order to generate heat. You may also feel minor tremors and goosebumps.
However, the same physiological reactions can also indicate that something is wrong. It's usually nothing major, but every now and then it can be. Here are a few examples of what can cause chills.
Chills are caused by the brain and the sympathetic nervous system. In these cases, the chills are simply a sign of a "peak" subjective emotional response, which is often a positive one, so there's no need to be concerned.
Chills can also be caused by fear or anxiety. The autonomic nervous system—the part of your nervous system that controls involuntary actions like heartbeat and blood vessel widening or narrowing—is responsible for this response.
Chills are one of the symptoms of a panic attack, which also includes a pounding or racing heart, sweating, chest pain, or difficulty breathing. To treat panic attacks, you may need psychotherapy.
Chills are often an early warning sign that you're about to get sick from a virus or bacteria. Typically, it is muscle tremors caused by chemicals released either by organisms invading the body or by your own protective cells that fight infection.
Chills frequently precede fevers, giving you the strange sensation of being cold while your body is burning up. Chills usually appear at the start of an illness, but they can occur without a fever.
Chills are also frequently associated with fevers of various causes and can predict rising temperatures. This is most common in younger children, who are more prone to developing fevers even with minor infections.
Chills can be a sign of a serious drug allergy, regardless of drug class. Antibiotics are often to blame. Surprisingly, they are given to people who have infections, making it difficult to distinguish between chills caused by infection and chills caused by a drug reaction.
Blood or blood product transfusions, chemotherapy, and even contrast agents used in imaging tests have all been linked to these reactions.
Hypoglycemia occurs when your blood glucose level falls below a healthy level. It is common in people who have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes and use insulin. Too much insulin can result in low blood sugar.
Physical activity can raise your body temperature and even cause a fever, resulting in chills.
White blood cells are immune system cells that aid in the fight against infection and disease. Chills can be caused by any disease that causes an increase in white blood cell activity. This includes rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and gout, all of which have additional symptoms.
Increased white blood cell activity in these diseases causes the release of chemicals that cause chills, most likely by activating the hypothalamus in the brain.
The classic early symptom of Lyme disease is a bulls-eye rash, which usually appears where the tick bit you. Other symptoms that resemble the flu include chills, fever, headache, feeling sore and tired, and even vomiting. If you notice these symptoms in addition to the rash, see a doctor right away.
Chills are a well-known symptom of malaria, a parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes. This condition is uncommon in the United States, with only about 2,000 cases reported each year. The transmission occurs primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, so keep this in mind when traveling.
A typical malaria attack may include chills, fever, sweats, headache, body aches, nausea, and vomiting.
Infectious arthritis, also known as septic arthritis, is a rare condition that causes joint pain due to infection with bacteria, viruses, or fungi, and chills can be one of the symptoms.
Typically, an infection begins with one or two severe chills, followed by a fever and severe malaise. If you have cancer, you may experience a chill every night.
If you experience chills, the most common cancers that can cause them are leukemia and lymphoma.
