Feeling chilly at normal body temperature. Causes of chills without fever. How chills are related to fever

Every person in his life met with such a phenomenon as chills. Its occurrence is possible due to the fact that the human body is a complex biological mechanism in which constantly occurring metabolic processes are accompanied by the release of a large amount of heat. However, a person, unlike reptiles and some other species of living beings, has a relatively stable body temperature, strong fluctuations of which can lead to death. When there is a need for body warming, a number of processes are launched aimed at reducing returns and increasing heat production, which leads to an increase in body temperature. As a rule, this complex process in some cases is accompanied by the appearance of chills.

Chills

Chills are called the subjective sensation of freezing, accompanied by spasm of the vessels of the skin and trembling of the body, the occurrence of which occurs as a result of convulsive contraction of the muscles.

The center of thermoregulation is responsible for the occurrence of chills, the main task of which is to maintain body temperature within physiological limits. The importance of this process is due to the peculiarities of the structure of the body. Thus, a large number of biochemical processes associated with movement, mental activity, respiration and digestion are constantly taking place in the human body. For their normal course, the participation of enzymes is necessary - special proteins that can change their functions at the slightest temperature fluctuations. The greatest danger to life is too high a rise in temperature, which can lead to irreversible denaturation of proteins (enzymes), making respiration at the cellular level impossible. When the thermoregulatory center perceives body temperature as low, this leads to an increase in heat production and a decrease in heat transfer, which may be accompanied by chills.

A number of factors predispose to the development of chills in an infant due to freezing:

imperfection of heat regulation processes;
relatively more body surface area per kilogram of body weight than in adults;
low muscle mass.

Nature has tried to compensate for these features by increasing the intensity of metabolic processes (accompanied by the release of heat) and increasing the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue (not only has good heat-insulating properties, but is also a source of energy). In this regard, parents should pay considerable attention to the state of the child's body temperature.

Also, the appearance of a sharp chill in a child can be caused by a stressful situation, which is associated with susceptibility and impressionability in childhood.

Chills in a child in most cases are associated with infectious processes. A number of features predispose to this. So, in children, immunity is in the process of maturation, especially in the period before the onset of school age. Also of great importance is the fact that the immune system encounters a huge number of antigens after birth, which is a significant burden on it after development in a sterile environment during the prenatal period. A great influence on the prevalence of diseases of an infectious nature in the preschool period is exerted by the behavior of the child, associated with curiosity, when children take all sorts of objects into their mouths without first washing them. In addition, in large groups of children, as a rule, in kindergartens, epidemic outbreaks of diseases of an infectious nature are observed. In such cases, chills in a child is the first manifestation of the disease.

Symptoms of body chills in children in most cases are noticeable from the outside. As a rule, the child has a slight trembling (up to convulsions), increased fatigue, drowsiness, irritability. Small children may cry for a long time.

However, the cause of chills in a child can also be banal hypothermia associated with a miscalculation of parents when dressing a child before going outside. In such cases, it is important to know that hypothermia can also occur at ambient temperatures above freezing.

The symptoms and causes of chills in teenagers are usually the same as those in adults.

Chills in adults

The causes of chills in women and men, as a rule, differ slightly. A much greater influence on the development of chills is exerted not by gender-related characteristics, but by such individual characteristics as the age of patients, body mass index, the presence of hormonal disruptions, and peculiarities of work and nutrition.

The most common causes of chills in women and men of young and mature age are hypothermia and infectious processes.

Hypothermia occurs most often in the cold season, when outside temperatures in some regions fall well below zero, but this can occur even in the summer. As a rule, such parameters as air temperature and humidity have a significant impact on the balance between heat transfer and thermoregulation, which makes it possible to cool the body below the physiological temperature.

Such a feature of the human body as daily temperature fluctuations can influence the development of chills. So, the highest body temperature is observed during wakefulness, but normally it rarely exceeds 37 degrees, while during sleep its decrease can reach 35.5 degrees Celsius.

As a rule, the prevalence of injuries among men is wider than among women. This is due not only to the peculiarities of the way of life, but also to more frequent participation in armed conflicts. Also, according to statistics, 69% of road accidents occur through the fault of men (most likely due to the fact that there are more drivers among them).

The breakdown of the affected tissues, as well as the attachment of infectious complications, leads to chills during injuries.

In men, especially in Russia, alcoholism is a common and serious problem. In some cases, alcohol intoxication leads to the development of severe chills, the cause of which is the toxic effect of ethyl alcohol and its decay products on the nervous system. It is also possible the development of serious multiple organ failure, which requires immediate assistance.

Chills in women

As a rule, chills in women can be a manifestation of chronic infectious processes in the uterus and its appendages. Of particular danger to life is the development of sepsis, a life-threatening condition, the likelihood of which is highest after a criminal abortion, complicated by a bacterial or viral infection.

Often the cause of chills is a change in the hormonal background, which is typical for hypothyroidism, menopause and diabetes.

Chills can be one of the manifestations of the loss of a significant volume of blood, which is most common with internal bleeding. This is due to a violation of the blood supply to the organs, which disrupts metabolism at the tissue level.

With panic and stress, women with a demonstrative character can also experience severe chills, which disappear after calming down.

At the beginning of pregnancy, chills can be a manifestation of increased synthesis of progesterone, the concentration of which does not decrease during pregnancy, which increases the basal body temperature. This is a normal phenomenon that should not be feared, especially if the body temperature does not exceed 37 degrees. The duration of this condition can be 8 weeks, while the woman's body adapts to new changes.

The appearance of chills during pregnancy, especially in combination with signs of damage to the respiratory tract, may indicate a cold. In favor of this etiology, as a rule, also says an increase in temperature above 37 degrees. Of particular danger in the early stages are diseases such as measles, rubella and mumps. In some cases, women try to cope with infectious diseases on their own by reading various tips on the Internet, which is a fundamentally wrong action. So, the drugs taken can not only be ineffective, but also have teratogenic properties (especially dangerous in the early stages).

Chills during pregnancy can be one of the manifestations of her fading. As a rule, in such cases, the appearance of chills is caused by intoxication and is observed 2-3 weeks after the cessation of fetal development. There is also a decrease in signs of toxicosis of pregnant women.

Regardless of the severity of the symptoms, chills during pregnancy is a reason to seek the advice of a specialist who can choose the right treatment.

Chills while breastfeeding

Chills in women during breastfeeding can be a manifestation of lactostasis - a process when milk stagnation occurs in some areas of the mammary gland 3-4 days after birth. The cause of this phenomenon is, as a rule, the underdevelopment of the lactiferous ducts, especially in primiparas. The reverse absorption of milk, which has pyrogenic properties, causes the development of chills. In the future, the lack of treatment of lactostasis may be complicated by the addition of mastitis.

Also, chills in the early period after childbirth may not be associated with feeding, especially if a caesarean section was performed. The cause may be an infectious process in the area of surgical intervention.

With age, irreversible changes occur in the body associated with its aging. They are also significantly affected by concomitant diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension and heart disease, complicated by heart failure. As a result, the combination of these diseases leads to a decrease in the intensity of metabolic processes responsible for heat production. In addition, chills can be one of the manifestations of chronic heart failure, which is associated with impaired blood supply to organs and tissues, resulting in a decrease in their temperature.

Also, elderly people are characterized by low body weight, which is associated with smaller, compared with adults, volumes of muscle tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue. As a result of this, there is not only a decrease in heat production, but also an increase in heat transfer.

The combination of these factors, along with changes in the hormonal background, lead to a decrease in the body's resistance in old age to the development of hypothermia, which often causes chills.

It is also common for older people to take a large number of drugs, the side effects of which may be associated with the development of chills.

In old age, chronic infectious diseases often spread, the clinical picture of which is erased, which is associated with a deterioration in the immune response. As a rule, there is a slight fever, the appearance of which is accompanied by chills of the body.

Unfortunately, cancer is on the rise in recent years. Chills in such situations are part of the paraneoplastic syndrome - a complex of symptoms that accompany the appearance of a malignant tumor. In addition, chemotherapy courses may be accompanied by severe chills and other manifestations of intoxication, the occurrence of which is associated with the decay of tumor tissue.

In most cases, the symptoms of chills make it possible to suspect some kind of pathology in a person, especially if he is unable to help himself (children, people in a state of severe intoxication, the elderly).

The most common manifestations of chills include:

subjective feeling of cold;
trembling in the muscles of the body and limbs;
pale skin;
spasm of smooth muscles of the skin, which is accompanied by the appearance of "goose bumps".

The symptoms of chills can vary widely. This is connected, as a rule, not so much with the difference between the ambient temperature and the surface of the skin, but with the degree of excitability of the thermoregulatory center.

Weak chills

Weak chills occur, as a rule, most often and are a typical manifestation of the cooling of the body that has begun, the cause of which, in most cases, is an underestimation of weather conditions before going outside.

Also, in some cases, chilling may occur - a subjective sensation of cold, not accompanied by external manifestations of chills, the cause of which is excitement.

severe chills

Severe chills may indicate the development of pathological processes in the body and should alert the patient. Depending on the cause of its development, a set of measures should be taken to eliminate them.

The main causes of severe chills are intoxication and strong excitement. In such cases, the patient's pronounced trembling can reach convulsions, often accompanied by a decrease in the clarity of thought processes. These people need help.

The degree of change in body temperature during chills is one of the most important diagnostic criteria that allows you to determine not only the cause of its development, but also the severity of the general condition of the body.

Moreover, the appearance of chills can be observed both with an increase in temperature and with its decrease. From this we can conclude that chills are a non-specific symptom, and therefore the treatment of its occurrence can vary significantly.

The mechanism of development of body chills

To understand the processes that occur when a chill of the body appears, one should understand what the mechanism of thermoregulation is.

Normally, the human body maintains a balance between the receipt and release of heat, which ensures a relatively constant temperature of the internal environment of the body. This became possible due to the constant work of central thermogenesis and the maintenance of a gradient in the distribution of thermal energy between the internal and external parts of the body, which is associated with different thermal conductivity of body tissues. So, subcutaneous fatty tissue and skin, with spasmodic vessels, conduct heat much worse compared to blood, muscles and other internal organs. An example of the presence of a gradient is the difference between the temperature in the rectum and the distal extremities.

Cold and heat receptors are responsible for receiving information about cooling or heating of the outer integument and internal organs, the work of which depends on two parameters - the degree of their excitability and the temperature of the area in which they are located.

When the skin or internal organs are cooled, the activity of cold receptors increases, after which the signal arising in them is transmitted to the supraoptic nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus, which causes a decrease in heat transfer and an increase in heat production. Also, information about a decrease in temperature can be transmitted through the activation of thermosensitive neurons of the hypothalamus when they come into contact with chilled blood (temperature fluctuations by tenths of a degree are detected, which allows timely correction of the temperature balance).

Very often, a change in the sensitivity of skin receptors or neurons of the hypothalamus under the influence of various substances circulating in the blood leads to a violation of the perception of information about the real state of the temperature balance.

Activation of the supraoptic nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus triggers a number of processes leading to:

narrowing of the vessels of the skin, which allows not only to reduce its thermal conductivity, but also to reduce heat transfer through blood cooling;
activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is accompanied by the release of stress hormones, causing an acceleration of metabolic reactions, accompanied by the burning of carbohydrates and fats, resulting in a significant amount of heat being released (newborns have brown adipose tissue that saves them from freezing);
activation of the extrapyramidal system, leading to stimulation of skeletal muscles, which is manifested by systemic trembling (muscle contraction requires the presence of ATP, the breakdown of which is associated with the release of energy).

Thus, if we consider the mechanism of thermoregulation, then the main purpose of chills is to increase body temperature.

In addition, the occurrence of body chills is associated with the appearance of mental discomfort, which has a significant impact on a person's behavior associated with warming (he wears warmer clothes or enters a room with a higher air temperature).

Chills with an increase in body temperature is a very common symptom and, as a rule, is observed in conditions of the body, accompanied by intoxication of varying severity.

However, chills with an increase in temperature are not always observed. So, if the increase in body temperature occurred gradually over a long period of time, or heat production initially significantly prevailed over heat transfer (during intense physical exertion), then chills are not observed, since there is no biological meaning in its occurrence.

Causes of chills

There are a huge number of reasons that can cause chills.

So, chills can occur when:

infectious processes accompanied by the release of pyrogens (colds, flu, pancreatitis, hepatitis, purulent diseases, sepsis, etc.);
injuries (both with damage to the nervous system, and accompanied by extensive tissue necrosis);
endocrine disorders (hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism, adrenal hypofunction);
hypothermia;
shock (hypovolemic, cardiogenic, traumatic, infectious-toxic, septic, anaphylactic, neurogenic);
stressful condition in excitable people.

However, in some cases, chills are accompanied by a number of features that suggest one or another reason for the appearance of this symptom.

Chills without fever

Normal body temperature during chills is quite common and, in most cases, eliminates the infectious nature of the process. Although, there are situations when chills without fever are observed with prolonged, sluggish chronic infections, such as tuberculosis or syphilis. It should be noted that much more often these diseases, even with an erased course, are still accompanied by a slight increase in temperature (usually subfebrile).

Chills without temperature can occur with hypothermia - when the body cannot cope with the task and cannot raise the temperature on its own (it is observed during hypothermia in people with reduced nutrition and requires urgent warming).

Also, the appearance of chills without temperature can be a manifestation of severe metabolic disorders, accompanied by both damage to the nervous system and a decrease in heat production as a result of impaired systemic circulation. The causes of this phenomenon are, as a rule, endocrine pathology and multiple organ failure of various etiologies.

The cause of chills without temperature can be anemia, which leads to a violation of the transport of oxygen and nutrients, which causes a violation of metabolic processes in organs and tissues. Also, in this condition, weakness, dizziness, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, pallor of the skin and mucous membranes are observed.

Chills and an increase in body temperature are normally part of a single process of thermoregulation. Oddly enough, but fever has protective functions and its occurrence is adaptive.

So, an increase in temperature to 38.5 degrees is accompanied by:

a decrease in the viability of bacteria in the blood;
an increase in the rate of metabolic reactions by 10 times or more;
increased activity of cellular and humoral components of immunity;
increasing the body's resistance to hypoxia by enhancing the efficiency of oxidative processes.

However, when the temperature rises above 38.5 degrees, the effectiveness of some physiological reactions may decrease as a result of impaired enzyme functions.

With chills, high body temperature develops under the influence of pyrogens - substances that affect the anterior hypothalamus and increase the sensitivity of thermosensitive neurons, which leads to the predominance of heat production over heat transfer.

In most cases, pyrogens are endogenous in nature and their appearance can be associated with both an infectious process and the decay of one's own tissues. In some cases, pyrogens of an exogenous nature may enter the body, which will cause an increase in temperature. In this case, chills will most often be accompanied by other signs of intoxication - weakness, fatigue, a feeling of weakness, sweating.

Most often, infectious diseases have a prodromal period, during which the pathogen multiplies and fights against the immune forces of the body. In some cases, during this period, there is increased fatigue, weakness, but there is no increase in temperature. At a high temperature, chills begin, as a rule, when its values \u200b\u200bare at a normal level and accompany it until the moment when its growth is stopped. It is the appearance of fever that indicates the height of the disease.

As a rule, in such situations, it is recommended to contact a specialist who can diagnose and prescribe the correct treatment. It is not recommended to wrap yourself in warm clothes, put mustard plasters and use other methods associated with heating the body.

A sharp chill at a high temperature associated with an injury should alert the patient, since a large number of damaged tissues (whether it be a burn or the result of a direct traumatic effect) serves as a favorable environment for the attachment of bacteria that can lead to an infectious process.

Chills and pain

Chills and pain are common manifestations of various diseases. A significant role in determining the cause of these symptoms is played by such characteristics of pain as localization, duration, intensity.

The appearance of pain is a protective reaction of the body, the purpose of which is to transmit information about damage to organs or tissues. As a rule, its occurrence is accompanied by the release of stress hormones, leading to strong excitement, one of the manifestations of which is chills.

Chills and pain in the abdomen can result from such serious diseases of a non-infectious nature as acute pancreatitis and peptic ulcer when it is perforated. The cause of chills in this case is both a strong excitement associated with unbearable pain, and the entry into the bloodstream of biologically active substances from the site of inflammation.

If chills and pain are the result of a traumatic effect, then local changes are also observed at the site of injury. For the development of chills in the absence of infections, the amount of damage must be significant, or be accompanied by blood loss, the absorption of decay products of which also has a pyrogenic effect. As a rule, with timely access to a specialist, proper treatment and the absence of infection, a favorable outcome is observed.

Accession of infection in injuries is accompanied by a significant increase in fever, chills and pain. In the further development of the infectious process can lead to such unpleasant complications as:

abscess;
phlegmon;
osteomyelitis;
sepsis.

If you do not start complex treatment, then the risk of death increases significantly.

Nausea and chills can occur during menstruation in women. These symptoms can be caused by a number of reasons.

Chills during menstruation most often occur as a result of changes in the ratios and concentrations of sex hormones that occur when the stages of the menstrual cycle change.

The occurrence of nausea may be associated with an excess of hormones, which is especially often observed when taking oral contraceptives.

So, in some cases, the uterus may deviate somewhat backward, as a result of which, during menstruation, it begins to put pressure on the nerve centers, which leads to nausea, heaviness in the lower abdominal cavity, as well as pain radiating to the lower back and sacrum.

Nausea and chills can be a manifestation of early toxicosis of pregnant women, often becoming the first symptoms that make it possible to suspect pregnancy. Their occurrence is associated with the adaptation of the maternal organism to new conditions.

Nausea and chills can be a manifestation of panic, the attacks of which can be characterized as a sudden onset of fear. The prevalence of this phenomenon is about 2% among the population. As a rule, the first attacks occur at a young age, periodically accompanying a person throughout life. Subsequently, the fear of their recurrence is called panic attacks.

Nausea and chills can become a manifestation of acute renal failure that has arisen as a result of urolithiasis, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, hydronephrosis and other diseases accompanied by damage to the renal tissue.

Chill at night

Chills at night are often found in older people, which is associated with age-related changes. As a rule, the intensity and efficiency of ongoing metabolic processes decrease with age, which, along with a decrease in the mass of muscle and adipose tissue, leads to hypothermia. Cooling the body triggers a number of processes whose purpose is to increase body temperature. Chills are one of the manifestations of these processes.

Chills during sleep, in most cases, is a consequence of excessive sweating, which can occur under the influence of a significant number of factors. A person wakes up in a cold sweat, which helps to cool the body. The actions of the body aimed at warming the body are accompanied by the development of chills.

At night, body chills can occur in diabetics and be a consequence of a decrease in the concentration of glucose in the blood plasma. As a rule, there is also a feeling of heat, tremor of the limbs and body, headaches, hunger, heart palpitations, excessive sweating and general weakness. In most cases, the cause of the development of this condition is the lack of control of glucose levels.

Chills at night, combined with sweating and a feeling of heat in people with reduced body weight, especially in poor living conditions, may be a manifestation of a disease such as tuberculosis.

In some cases, chills at night are associated with night terrors, in which the patient experiences vivid events associated with stress, which leads to nervous strain and increased sweating.

The reason for the development of chills at night can be hormonal changes, accompanied by a change in metabolism. As a rule, the cause of these disorders can be damage to the thyroid gland and adrenal glands. In women, the appearance of chills is characteristic of the menopause. In most cases, hormonal changes are associated with increased sweating, which leads to the development of chills.

Headache and chills can be a manifestation of autonomic or panic migraine. As a rule, an attack of this type of migraine is accompanied by a rapid heartbeat, watery eyes, a feeling of suffocation and swelling of the face. Migraine is the primary form of cephalalgia, the main manifestation of which is intense, paroxysmal headaches. The first signs of the disease are observed before the age of 20 years.

In this condition, a differential diagnosis with neoplastic diseases should be carried out, which requires an MRI.

Headache and chills, in combination with meningeal symptoms and severe intoxication, may be a manifestation of meningitis. In this disease, bacterial inflammation of the meningeal membranes is observed, requiring immediate treatment due to possible complications.

Chills, headache and high fever (temperature can usually exceed 38°C), in combination with signs of respiratory involvement, may be a manifestation of influenza, an acute viral infection. There may also be photophobia, a feeling of weakness, drowsiness.

Headache and chills without fever, in combination with weakness, feeling of heat, polyuria and tension of the occipital muscles can be observed in hypertensive cerebral crisis. As a rule, the symptoms of chills in this case occur in the evening, after stress. If after the measurement the blood pressure is high, it is recommended to call an ambulance, as there is a risk of brain damage as a result of a stroke.

The consequences of an ischemic stroke can be numbness of the limbs, paralysis, speech impairment, frequent headaches and chills. As a rule, the development of this disease is due to the progression of atherosclerosis, and therefore there is a risk of developing repeated attacks, to prevent which the patency of the main vessels of the brain should be assessed.

In some cases, a concussion of the brain is accompanied not only by a violation of its functions (as a rule, a short-term loss of consciousness and memory for events before the injury develops), but also by dizziness, nausea, vomiting, thirst, weakness, chills and headache. Possible loss of orientation in space.

Is there a chill for no reason

Sometimes people wonder if chills can occur for no reason. Typically, this happens when they discover the onset of chills that is not accompanied by other symptoms of the disease.

This may be due to both the low severity of other pathological manifestations, and the patient's getting used to the symptoms with their gradual development. As a rule, a deeper study of the problem allows you to find a number of other signs of the disease, allowing you to make a diagnosis.

Thus, if a patient complains of chills for no apparent reason, the following should be done:

a thorough visual inspection;
conducting functional tests;
clinical laboratory and instrumental studies.

The most common cause of nausea, fever, chills, and vomiting is food poisoning. This disease can be caused by a group of pathogens, but they are united by a common pathogenesis. So, in most cases, food poisoning is caused by representatives of the opportunistic human flora, which, under the influence of environmental factors, change their biological properties and get the opportunity to synthesize exotoxins.

The mechanism of transmission in this group of diseases is fecal-oral. A prerequisite is the ingress of pathogens into food products, followed by an increase in the number of pathogenic organisms and exotoxins released by them, which requires a certain time. The most common contamination of the following types of food - milk, dairy products, meat, fish, confectionery containing cream.

In some cases, it is not possible to distinguish spoiled products from normal ones, which is due to the absence of color and smell in some exotoxins.

After eating contaminated foods, foodborne pathogens begin to colonize the digestive tract. As a rule, a significant part of pathogens penetrates through the mucous membrane, where, upon meeting with the immune forces of the body, it dies with the release of endotoxin, the appearance of which in the blood determines the development of such signs of intoxication as fatigue, weakness and chills. Vomiting and other signs of indigestion are caused by both the action of exotoxin (secretory diarrhea) and inflammatory processes in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract (exudative diarrhea). Disorders of the digestive system are fraught with a violation of the water and electrolyte balance of the body, which can lead to serious consequences, especially in young children. In this regard, efforts in providing assistance should be directed not only to the elimination of the pathogen, but also to the compensation of water and electrolyte metabolism.

Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting without chills and fever can be the result of food intoxication. In this disease, bacteria enter the food, where they multiply with the release of a significant amount of exotoxins. The difference from food poisoning is the absence of colonization of the gastrointestinal tract by pathogens, and therefore the clinical picture is dominated by symptoms of disruption of the digestive system, while the manifestations of intoxication are slightly expressed. As a rule, after 2-3 days the symptoms of the disease go away on their own.

In severe cases, with severe dehydration, nausea, vomiting and chills may be a manifestation of food intoxication. However, the occurrence of chills is not associated with the systemic action of the pathogen, but with a significant change in the water and electrolyte balance, which leads to multiple organ failure, accompanied by a violation of metabolic processes.

Nausea, chills, fever

Nausea, chills and fever are typical signs of intoxication of the body, accompanying inflammatory processes in the body of both infectious and non-infectious nature.

Infectious diseases leading to intoxication of the body can be both acute (tonsillitis, influenza, pneumonia) and chronic (chronic abscess, accompanied by severe intoxication).

Non-infectious lesions of internal organs, accompanied by nausea, chills and fever, are usually represented by necrotic processes in their own tissues.

The causes of chills without obvious signs of damage to other organs and systems may be associated with oncological processes. Systemic manifestations of the tumor process, caused by non-specific reactions from unaffected organs and systems, are called paraneoplastic syndrome. As a rule, a feature of a malignant neoplasm is a high growth rate and the predominance of anaerobic respiration, due to the inability of the body to meet the needs of the tumor, which can rightfully be considered a nutrient trap. The growing discrepancy between the needs of the tumor and the body's ability to provide it with nutrients, against the background of progressive local lactic acidosis (as a result of the impossibility of complete glucose oxidation), leads to the formation of first minor, and then massive tumor tissue necrosis. Also, the appearance of metastases, in most cases, is accompanied by the destruction of normal body tissues. Against the background of the above changes, a person experiences severe intoxication, the manifestation of which is general weakness, fatigue, drowsiness, nausea, chills and fever. Due to the lack of nutrients in most cases, there is a pronounced weight loss. Treatment and outcomes of the disease depend, as a rule, on the specific clinical situation.

If a sharp chill arose as a result of sudden hypothermia or developed hypothermia, a set of measures should be taken to eliminate the cold and warm the patient. As a rule, wrapping in warm clothes is used. Warm drinks are also recommended. Taking small doses of alcohol can only be justified if the person is already in a warm room and the causes of hypothermia have been eliminated. The intake of alcohol with continued exposure to the causes that caused hypothermia will lead to the expansion of skin vessels, which will significantly increase heat transfer and lead to a deterioration in the body's condition.

As a rule, in other cases, the elimination of the cause, one of the manifestations of which is a sharp chill, allows you to get rid of this symptom.

Chills - a feeling of cold, accompanied by involuntary trembling and twitching of muscles, chattering of teeth ("tooth does not fall on a tooth"), the appearance of goose bumps, this is a protective reaction of the body to increase peripheral blood circulation in order to warm up. The person feels unwell, chilly and cold. These symptoms develop due to sharp spasms of small vessels located immediately under the skin. Chills are not a disease - it is only the body's reaction to sudden changes in temperature and metabolic disorders. This is a common symptom of feverish conditions: influenza, septicemia, serious injury, some forms of diarrhea, severe bleeding, etc. If the chill is very strong and lasts more than half an hour, this may indicate malaria, pneumonia, scarlet fever, smallpox, etc.

Causes of chills

It is incorrect to correlate the appearance of chills only with an increase in body temperature, it can appear without it, so it is important to pay attention to the appearance of such a symptom. Let's deal with the reasons that can lead to its appearance, there are not so few of them as it might seem at first glance. The most harmless cause of chills can be called hypothermia, but only if it is not strong. If you find blue lips and fingers, pay attention to lethargy, a decrease in body temperature, then this is already much more serious. In this case, all possible measures for warming should be taken, such as a warm bath and tea, and in case of loss of consciousness, the person needs medical attention. Chills are often accompanied by infectious diseases, and weakness and headache may be present. As a rule, these symptoms are followed by fever and additional symptoms.

As a rule, he appears at the same time, most often in the evening hours. In this case, the help of doctors is also necessary, since hypertension threatens with serious consequences. Sometimes chills are accompanied by emotional arousal, excessive excitement and stress. At the same time, a person feels icy cold or heat, he has a desire to move, or, conversely, he falls into a stupor. If these conditions are not long in time, then breathing exercises, sedatives can help. If the stress dragged on, then you should contact a psychologist to identify the cause of its appearance and eliminate it.

In the event that chills are accompanied by a severe headache, fever, weakness, loss of appetite, insomnia, then these signs may accompany malaria. This disease is considered very serious and life-threatening, so in this case it is better not to remember self-medication, especially if a person has recently returned from a trip to some exotic country. Urgently call an ambulance and get ready to be sent to the infectious diseases department.

When chills are accompanied by hot flashes, intense sweating, menstrual irregularities, emotional swings, then we are most likely talking about menopausal syndrome. Seek advice from a gynecologist-endocrinologist who will recommend the right treatment. Similar conditions can be observed in the presence of other hormonal disorders, such as hyperthyroidism and diabetes. In this case, they may be accompanied by weight loss while maintaining a normal or even increased appetite, heart palpitations, nervousness. If we are talking specifically about endocrine ailments, then serious treatment is necessary here and strictly under the supervision of a doctor.

Chills without fever

Chills can occur without an increase in body temperature. The causes of this condition may be: hormonal disorders (eg, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, menopausal syndrome); rise in blood pressure (in this case, it is just the repeated time of the onset of chills that is characteristic); infectious diseases (including such formidable ones as tuberculosis, malaria); slowing down metabolic processes in the body against the background of a long-term diet; nervous tension, lack of sleep, stress, excitement, overwork, etc. To deal with the causes of chills, you need to contact a general practitioner or general practitioner. He will conduct a complete physical examination, prescribe the necessary laboratory and instrumental additional examinations. Do not put off a visit to the doctor for a long time, as a number of diseases that cause chills require immediate treatment.

Diagnosis of chills

Diagnosis of chills includes:

Anamnesis;
General blood analysis;
Blood chemistry.

Chills and a constant feeling of cold signals that the function of the thyroid gland is reduced. If everything is normal in a person, the endocrine system provides thermoregulation of the body. When certain hormones are lacking, a person is constantly tormented by cold. Symptoms are most often observed in women over 50 during menopause.

Notice if you have any of the following symptoms:

Hair fall out.
You get tired quickly.
Mood changes frequently.
Gaining weight rapidly.
There was dry skin.

If you have counted at least a few of these symptoms and you are tormented by chills, be sure to get tested for the level of thyroid hormones.

Chill treatment

It is necessary to reduce body temperature with antipyretics (Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Aspirin for adults). You can lie down under a warm blanket and drink plenty of warm tea (helps in 15 minutes if the condition is due to hypothermia). Lie down in a warm bath, then carefully rub the body with a terry towel. Do not use any alcoholic beverages, as this can worsen the condition and even lead to fainting. If the cause of the chills is nervous overexcitation, you need to drink a sedative, for example, tincture of motherwort or valerian.

When to call a doctor:

chills are observed in the baby, and if it is combined with lethargy or nervousness;
shivering very much, to the point of teeth chattering;
chill does not go away within an hour;
the general condition worsens sharply;
shortly before this, the patient had visited exotic countries;
chills are observed in a patient with heart disease who has recently treated teeth (there is a possibility of infection);
the patient has severe chronic diseases, such as diabetes;
this condition occurs in a person using steroid hormones or undergoing radiotherapy.

Chill Prevention

In the cold season, dress well, do not allow hypothermia;
Try to eat food enriched with vitamins and microelements;
Do not let various diseases take their course so that they do not become chronic;
If you are too emotional person, try to avoid work where there are stressful situations;
Do not allow strong physical overexertion when doing anything.

In winter, most often you want to wrap yourself in a blanket and do nothing. But it happens that the question is not at all in the time of year, but in the state of the body. Today we will figure out in which cases a feeling of cold can occur if there are no visible reasons for this, such as a low ambient temperature, and what should be done if the body temperature does not rise during chills.

chill signs

The main sign by which you can know if a person has a chill is a feeling of cold. There may be a desire to wrap yourself in a blanket or dress warmer, as well as weakness. If you are sure that the ambient temperature is warm enough, and the feeling of cold does not disappear, this is definitely a chill.

First of all, you need to understand that this is just a symptom of the disease, and not a disease. Secondly, it is important to know why the body reacts this way and what caused the reaction itself.

During the time when a person feels cold, the following happens: the peripheral vessels are spasmodic, due to which they decrease - this is how the body controls the evaporation of heat. In addition, trembling may appear, with the help of which the body produces the same heat. which he now lacks.

Did you know? The chewing muscles are the first to be affected by trembling, hence the saying “tooth does not fall on a tooth”, denoting a feeling of extreme cold.

Also, at the time of hypothermia, a person’s metabolism begins to accelerate intensely and a reflex desire to curl up appears.

Thus, we understand that chills are directly related to a lack of heat in the body, and its characteristic signs are aimed at raising the temperature, producing the missing heat.

The reasons

Now that we have understood what happens in our body when it freezes us without raising the temperature, it's time to figure out what exactly caused the symptom. Knowing what caused hypothermia, you can choose for yourself the most correct way to eliminate an unpleasant symptom. Consider the main reasons why you may feel cold.

Influenza and ODS

When the disease is in the early stages of development, you may not observe an increase in body temperature, but feel a feeling of frost. In the event that there is a virus in the body, such a symptom can be a tool to fight harmful bacteria.
In addition, it is with the help of a feeling of cold that the body notifies you that there are health problems. The best way to cope with the symptom in this situation will help warm teas, to which you should add honey or raspberries - these products reduce fever and warm the body. You can also make a warm foot bath.

Violation of the circulatory system

It often freezes those people who have problems with blood circulation. Thus, poor circulation leads to a lack of heat. You can cope with this problem if you increase physical activity. If you move a lot, and blood circulation is not improving its work, seek help from a doctor.

hypothermia

A long stay on the street or in a room with a low air temperature subsequently results in the fact that the vessels narrow, and you feel very cold. It is best in such a situation to drink a cup of warm drink and cover yourself with a blanket.

Important! Do not crawl under a warm blanket if you are cold. After all, the body is already producing heat and your “help” to yourself can turn into overheating of the internal organs.

Stress

Discomfort situations for a person or a change of scenery often become causes of stress. This is displayed, first of all, on the state of the human nervous system.

At the same time, it is the nervous system that monitors the temperature of the body and the abundance of heat, so a feeling of chills can occur if a person is very nervous or experiencing a stressful situation. For the same reason, weakness appears, which comes with a feeling of cold.

You can't deal with this cause with heat alone, but you can minimize the symptoms. To do this, drink warm chamomile tea or tea with lemon balm. These plants have a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system and have a calming effect. Video: methods for eliminating chills

Hormonal disorders

This cause of heat loss occurs, as a rule, in women. It is associated with a lack of certain hormones in the body, which often occurs during menopause.

A feeling of heat may also occur during this period. To normalize the functioning of the body, seek the help of a doctor - treatment is carried out through hormone therapy.

Important! It is forbidden to carry out such procedures on your own. Therapy that uses hormones is carried out exclusively under the supervision of a specialist, otherwise you can harm the body.

Infection

Infectious diseases are characterized by the appearance of not only a feeling of cold. In addition, there is an exhaustion of the body, it can feel sick, and the skin turns pale.

In this case, it is not safe to take any measures on your own: you need to determine what kind of infection caused this state of the body. Contact your doctor for help, who will prescribe the treatment that is right for you.

Violation of the digestive tract

Diseases of the stomach can also be expressed with a symptom such as chills. In particular, this applies to people who have gastritis or stomach cancer.

If you have not been previously diagnosed with one of these diagnoses, you should consult a doctor and undergo a diagnosis. In addition, you may have pain in the abdomen, as well as heartburn or diarrhea, which are associated with increased production of hydrochloric acid in the body.

Diabetes

This disease negatively affects the condition of the vessels located under the skin. As a result, the reaction to changes in air temperature slows down.

Those vessels that are directly connected with the temperature regulation center and the brain also suffer from the development of diabetes. Observed in patients with this disease and deterioration in the nutrition of the limbs. All these changes in the body can lead to frequent feelings of cold.

The main characteristic of this disease is a malfunction of the pituitary gland, in particular, a decrease in the level of hormones that the pituitary gland should produce. An important role is played by the presence of the hormone of the adrenal cortex. With its lack, a feeling of coldness will be observed, as well as a deterioration in mood and the appearance of weakness.

The disease is manifested by seizures, during which a person can feel cold, that is, vasospasm. The chin, fingers, ear cartilage, and the tip of the nose are exposed to such an effect. An attack occurs in two cases: a person is in a place with low air temperature or is very nervous.

This is a disease in which the functioning of the thyroid gland is disrupted. The level of hormone production decreases, which affects the metabolic process in the body, slows it down.

This ailment can be both an independent diagnosis and accompany inflammation or thyroid cancer. Both adult men and women and children can suffer from hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism

Increase in blood pressure

A sharp change in pressure indicators also leads to a feeling of chills. Most often, hypertensive patients experience cold, since their pressure is unstable - it either drops sharply, then rises sharply. In this regard, this symptom occurs.

Treatment consists in the timely regulation of indicators with the help of medications prescribed by your doctor.

Important! If you are hypertensive, monitor your blood pressure and take the necessary medications on time. If you neglect your condition and do not regulate the pressure, you can get a stroke.

People suffering from vegetative-vascular dystonia live with cold extremities most of the time, and the effect of any warming disappears rather quickly. This is due to the state of the vessels themselves in people, their low tone.
This problem can be solved with medication, but we suggest paying attention to the means that strengthen the immune system - exercise, washing with cool water. With this, you will simultaneously strengthen the walls of blood vessels, which means you can get rid of the feeling of chills.

Shock

There are several types of shock, but with each of them, the following happens: either the blood in the vessels will become less than usual, or the vessels will dilate, and the amount of blood will remain the same. A person can survive anaphylactic (caused by an allergen), pain (caused by physical trauma), infectious-toxic and hypovolemic shock.

Did you know? Despite the fact that alcoholic beverages contribute to vasodilation, we do not recommend using it as a warming agent. As a result, you can worsen your condition, up to fainting. But if a stressful situation has become the cause of the chills, you can drink a sedative - valerian or motherwort infusion.

alcohol intoxication

Due to the use of alcoholic beverages, the vessels expand, and the heat that they have developed evaporates very quickly. Then the body temperature drops and the person feels cold.

Taking medications

Permanent use also leads to cooling of the body:

These medicines contribute to the expansion of blood vessels, which leads to the rapid evaporation of heat and the same rapid cooling of the body. In this case, you can consult a doctor and change the drug.

severe illness

A long illness leads to depletion of the body - immunity decreases, the adrenal glands suffer, exhausted by long-term treatment. It is important to note that if the level of hormones produced by the adrenal glands falls, then the body temperature will decrease, the vessels will narrow, and you will feel chills.

In this case, the body temperature during the measurement will be below normal, that is, 36.6 ° C.

If the disease has not yet developed, the person will feel weak, lack of energy, will be irritated more often than usual and suffer from poor concentration. Occasional insomnia, daytime sleepiness, noise in the ear or in the ears, and headache are also possible.

In children

All of the above reasons are also characteristic of children and adolescents, but one cannot but pay attention to the characteristics of a young organism. During this period, the body is prone to the disease of vegetative-vascular dystonia.

Also, the possibility of a teenager drinking alcohol or drugs that dilate blood vessels cannot be ruled out. Often there is a feeling of cold in adolescents due to the presence of a large amount of stress. Also, chills can be caused by early pregnancy in girls under 20 years old.

Among women

The female body is somewhat different from the male. In this regard, we indicate the causes of chills, peculiar only to women.

A woman may feel cold if:

Night chills in women

The feeling of cold, disturbing a woman at night, is a sign of a disease such as hypothyroidism.

How to fight or what to do

Since chills occur when there is a lack of heat, you can help your body warm up faster. To do this, it is enough to drink warm tea, wash your hands in warm water or make a warm foot bath.

You can wrap yourself in a blanket or blanket if it is not too warm. Then you can cause the temperature inside the body to become higher than necessary, your internal organs to overheat.
If you have chills due to shock, then call a doctor. Independent actions can only harm. We strongly do not recommend drinking warm liquid after a shock.

In the case when a child under three years of age experiences a feeling of cold, an ambulance should be urgently called. It is not worth treating a child on your own - you can also harm the baby without knowing the reason for the decrease in body temperature and the characteristics of the child's body.

Chills

A number of factors predispose to the development of chills in an infant due to freezing:

imperfection of heat regulation processes;
relatively more body surface area per kilogram of body weight than in adults;
low muscle mass.

Also, the appearance of a sharp chill in a child can be caused by a stressful situation, which is associated with susceptibility and impressionability in childhood.

The symptoms and causes of chills in teenagers are usually the same as those in adults.

Chills in adults

The most common causes of chills in women and men of young and mature age are hypothermia and infectious processes.

The breakdown of the affected tissues, as well as the attachment of infectious complications, leads to chills during injuries.

Chills in women

Often the cause of chills is a change in the hormonal background, which is typical for hypothyroidism, menopause and diabetes.

With panic and stress, women with a demonstrative character can also experience severe chills, which disappear after calming down.

Regardless of the severity of the symptoms, chills during pregnancy is a reason to seek the advice of a specialist who can choose the right treatment.

Chills while breastfeeding

The combination of these factors, along with changes in the hormonal background, lead to a decrease in the body's resistance in old age to the development of hypothermia, which often causes chills.

It is also common for older people to take a large number of drugs, the side effects of which may be associated with the development of chills.

The most common manifestations of chills include:

subjective feeling of cold;
trembling in the muscles of the body and limbs;
pale skin;
spasm of smooth muscles of the skin, which is accompanied by the appearance of "goose bumps".

Weak chills

Also, in some cases, chilling may occur - a subjective sensation of cold, not accompanied by external manifestations of chills, the cause of which is excitement.

severe chills

The mechanism of development of body chills

To understand the processes that occur when a chill of the body appears, one should understand what the mechanism of thermoregulation is.

Activation of the supraoptic nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus triggers a number of processes leading to:

narrowing of the vessels of the skin, which allows not only to reduce its thermal conductivity, but also to reduce heat transfer through blood cooling;
activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is accompanied by the release of stress hormones, causing an acceleration of metabolic reactions, accompanied by the burning of carbohydrates and fats, resulting in a significant amount of heat being released (newborns have brown adipose tissue that saves them from freezing);
activation of the extrapyramidal system, leading to stimulation of skeletal muscles, which is manifested by systemic trembling (muscle contraction requires the presence of ATP, the breakdown of which is associated with the release of energy).

Thus, if we consider the mechanism of thermoregulation, then the main purpose of chills is to increase body temperature.

Chills with an increase in body temperature is a very common symptom and, as a rule, is observed in conditions of the body, accompanied by intoxication of varying severity.

Causes of chills

There are a huge number of reasons that can cause chills.

So, chills can occur when:

infectious processes accompanied by the release of pyrogens (colds, flu, pancreatitis, hepatitis, purulent diseases, sepsis, etc.);
injuries (both with damage to the nervous system, and accompanied by extensive tissue necrosis);
endocrine disorders (hypoglycemia, hypopituitarism, adrenal hypofunction);
hypothermia;
shock (hypovolemic, cardiogenic, traumatic, infectious-toxic, septic, anaphylactic, neurogenic);
stressful condition in excitable people.

However, in some cases, chills are accompanied by a number of features that suggest one or another reason for the appearance of this symptom.

Chills without fever

Chills and an increase in body temperature are normally part of a single process of thermoregulation. Oddly enough, but fever has protective functions and its occurrence is adaptive.

So, an increase in temperature to 38.5 degrees is accompanied by:

a decrease in the viability of bacteria in the blood;
an increase in the rate of metabolic reactions by 10 times or more;
increased activity of cellular and humoral components of immunity;
increasing the body's resistance to hypoxia by enhancing the efficiency of oxidative processes.

However, when the temperature rises above 38.5 degrees, the effectiveness of some physiological reactions may decrease as a result of impaired enzyme functions.

Chills and pain

abscess;
phlegmon;
osteomyelitis;
sepsis.

If you do not start complex treatment, then the risk of death increases significantly.

Nausea and chills can occur during menstruation in women. These symptoms can be caused by a number of reasons.

Chills during menstruation most often occur as a result of changes in the ratios and concentrations of sex hormones that occur when the stages of the menstrual cycle change.

The occurrence of nausea may be associated with an excess of hormones, which is especially often observed when taking oral contraceptives.

Nausea and chills can become a manifestation of acute renal failure that occurs as a result of urolithiasis, glomerulonephritis, hydronephrosis and other diseases accompanied by damage to the kidney tissue.

Chill at night

Chills at night, combined with sweating and a feeling of heat in people with reduced body weight, especially in poor living conditions, may be a manifestation of a disease such as tuberculosis.

In some cases, chills at night are associated with night terrors, in which the patient experiences vivid events associated with stress, which leads to nervous strain and increased sweating.

In this condition, a differential diagnosis with neoplastic diseases should be carried out, which requires an MRI.

Is there a chill for no reason

Sometimes people wonder if chills can occur for no reason. Typically, this happens when they discover the onset of chills that is not accompanied by other symptoms of the disease.

Thus, if a patient complains of chills for no apparent reason, the following should be done:

a thorough visual inspection;
conducting functional tests;
clinical laboratory and instrumental studies.

In some cases, it is not possible to distinguish spoiled products from normal ones, which is due to the absence of color and smell in some exotoxins.

Nausea, chills, fever

Nausea, chills and fever are typical signs of intoxication of the body, accompanying inflammatory processes in the body of both infectious and non-infectious nature.

Infectious diseases leading to intoxication of the body can be both acute (tonsillitis, influenza, pneumonia) and chronic (chronic abscess, accompanied by severe intoxication).

Non-infectious lesions of internal organs, accompanied by nausea, chills and fever, are usually represented by necrotic processes in their own tissues.

As a rule, in other cases, the elimination of the cause, one of the manifestations of which is a sharp chill, allows you to get rid of this symptom.

Almost every person has ever felt cold, muscle spasms, trembling in the body, "goosebumps". Chills without fever often cause these symptoms. This condition is due to various reasons.

Hypothermia - reason #1

Most often, chills without fever occur due to hypothermia. In this case, doctors recommend doing breathing exercises and drinking sedatives such as motherwort and valerian tincture. Chills at high pressure indicate the presence of such a dangerous disease as hypertension. This disease can even result in a stroke. If the chills are accompanied by headache, weakness, loss of appetite, then most likely you have malaria. Usually this disease occurs after visiting exotic countries.

Diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism - reason #2

The constant chills that appear in women can be caused by menopausal syndrome. The gynecologist knows how to alleviate the condition in this situation. However, experts state that similar symptoms appear in hyperthyroidism and diabetes mellitus. Therefore, if the above symptoms appear, you should immediately seek medical help.

Digestive system - reason #3

In case of indigestion, nausea and chills appear. It should be noted that each organism reacts in its own way. Someone is sick and feverish, and someone feels a slight dizziness, and some almost do not feel any discomfort. Therefore, if an intestinal infection enters the body, you should visit a doctor, since chills without fever are not always a manifestation of a digestive system disorder.

Thyroid gland - reason number 4

Persistent chills can be observed in case of decreased thyroid function. A healthy thyroid gland secretes hormones involved in the thermoregulation of the body. With a decrease in its function, the amount of hormones released decreases, and the person begins to experience a constant feeling of cold. In this case, doctors recommend:

Infection - reason number 5

Most often, chills appear when an infection enters the body. As a result, substances are formed that contribute to the transition of blood inside the vessels to a hot state. Subsequently, chills without temperature are transformed into fever with high body temperature.

Raynaud's disease - reason number 6

Most often, chills are associated with a disease such as Raynaud's disease. This disease manifests itself in the form of a periodic spasm of the vessels of the hands. In this case, you should:

Protect your hands from the cold by keeping them warm at all times.
Use special thermocouples. For example, heat these improvised tools in the microwave and put them in mittens.
Get Botox injections.

Since chills without fever are a sign of numerous serious ailments, when it appears, you should immediately consult a doctor.