What Causes Chills / Shivering?

Chills / shivering can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'critical'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

Diagnose your symptoms now!

let The Analyst™ find what's wrong
understand what's happening to your body
have a doctor review your case (optional)

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose chills / shivering, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "chills / shivering" as a symptom. Here are eight of many possibilities (more below):

Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis)
Malaria
Ehrlichiosis
Epstein-Barr Virus
Dehydration
Pneumonia
Fluorosis
Leukemia

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

edema of the hands

chronic nausea

frequent swollen cervical nodes

chronic dry cough

severe diffuse bone pain

high sensitivity to bright light

loss of appetite

recent onset nausea

unexplained high fevers

history of migraine headaches

frequent sore throats

regular runny nose

... and more than 110 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of chills / shivering:

Cause	Probability	Status
Malaria	93%	Confirm
Epstein-Barr Virus	27%	Unlikely
Fluorosis	22%	Unlikely
Leukemia	1%	Ruled out
Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis)	1%	Ruled out
Dehydration	0%	Ruled out
Pneumonia	0%	Ruled out
Ehrlichiosis	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

In the Metabolic Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about chills / shivering:

Do you sometimes experience 'chills' (sensations of cold accompanied by shivering) that can not be explained by your environment?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Occasionally
→ Often - more than once a month
→ I am experiencing chills due to a current illness

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate absence of 'chills', occasional 'chills', frequent 'chills' or having chills from an illness, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Babesiosis

Chronic Fatigue / Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Dehydration

Water stores heat. Loss of water (dehydration) decreases the body's ability to regulate its temperature, which may lead to chills or shivering.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)

Fluoride Toxicity

Symptoms include body temperature disturbances and cold shivers.

Hyperthyroidism

Lyme Disease

Malaria

Pneumonia

Sepsis