New Vaccines in the Pipeline 2020
Chills But No Fever? Here's What It Means And What To Do
One of the tell-tale signs you have an impending cold, the flu, or COVID is a fever and its sidekick: full-body chills. What happens, though, when that hair-raising feeling takes over, but your body temperature isn't considered high? Chills with no fever can happen, and there are a few reasons why.
Meet the Experts: David Cutler, M.D., family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA and Mike Sevilla, M.D., family physician of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians.
Before getting into the specifics, it's important to note what constitutes a fever. Many healthcare professionals consider a temperature of 100.4 degrees and above to be a fever, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Read on to better understand what can cause your chills without fever and what you should do about it. Plus, when to see a doctor.
Why do I have chills but no fever?Chills are caused by the body trying to regulate its own core temperature, says Mike Sevilla, M.D., family physician of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. "Your body responds by causing your muscles to contract and relax, to try to warm up your body… some people call this reaction shivering."
"Chills, or shivering, is involuntary, so you can't control it," adds David Cutler, M.D., family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. Chills are also an important mechanism for maintaining normal body temperature when it drops too low, which happens quite often without a fever, Dr. Cutler adds.
Here are some of the usual suspects behind your chills sans fever:
Cold temperaturesThe simplest cause of chills and shivering is being out in cold temperatures, says Dr. Sevilla. Also, wearing wet clothing and/or being in windy conditions, makes the body feel cold more quickly, he adds. "If the body's core temperature drops too low, this can cause a life-threatening condition called hypothermia."
This is why it's especially important to bundle up and keep warm in the colder winter months. So before you go outside, be sure to put on your winter coat, winter hat, and winter gloves to stay nice and toasty!
InfectionAccording to the National Library of Medicine, chills may present at the start of an infection—bacterial or viral—and not necessarily alongside a fever. They can also be predictors of an oncoming fever during an infection.
Bacterial infections are typically treated with antibiotics. As far as COVID and the flu, you can best protect yourself by staying up to date with vaccinations, and yes, it is safe to get both shots together.
HypothyroidismHaving an under-active thyroid can cause people to be more sensitive to the cold, and may cause chills symptoms, says Dr. Sevilla.
When thyroid hormone levels are too low, the body's cells can't get enough thyroid hormone and the body's processes start slowing down. As the body slows, you may notice that you feel colder, you tire more easily, your skin is getting drier, you're becoming forgetful and depressed, and you've started getting constipated. Because the symptoms are so variable and nonspecific, the only way to know for sure whether you have hypothyroidism is with a simple blood test, according to the American Thyroid Association.
Low blood sugarPeople with types of diabetes having a low blood sugar reaction may experience chill-type symptoms, says Dr. Sevilla. This low blood sugar reaction is called hypoglycemia. If you have diabetes and are experiencing chills, check your blood sugar to be sure that this is the cause of your shivers. With that said, if you see that your blood sugar is dropping below a safe threshold you have set with your doctor, you should immediately seek emergency medical attention to restore blood glucose levels.
Anxiety or strong emotionA reaction of fear or anxiety may cause an involuntary chill-type reaction. "Many people can relate to a certain movie or certain song which can send you those positive or negative chills feeling," says Dr. Sevilla.
Research has shown that anxiety and stress, in particular, can cause a rise in "normal" body temperature (anything above 98.6 degrees) even when there is no underlying illness or infection. This is known as a psychogenic fever. According to the American Institute of Stress, a psychogenic fever exhibits many of the typical fever symptoms, such as:
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a sign of severe dehydration is heat intolerance, which can come with chills. Other symptoms may include headache, fatigue, dry mouth, and muscle cramps.
Medication side effectsCertain medications, including those used in cancer treatment and for surgery anesthesia, have been known to cause chills as a side effect.
Home remedies for chills with no feverFor people anticipating colder temperatures, Dr. Sevilla reminds his patients to dress in layers of clothing to keep heat closer to the body. "Wearing layers of clothing allows you to adjust your clothes depending on how cold or warm that you feel," he says.
For people concerned about potential medical causes of chills, over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen or ibuprofen may help, says Dr. Sevilla. "However, to get to the root cause of what could be causing the chill symptoms, I recommend that patients be evaluated by their family physician," he adds.
If you think you are experiencing chills due to dehydration, make sure to drink plenty of water and electrolytes. If symptoms don't improve, see a doctor.
What's most important to figure out when you're shivering without a fever is whether or not you're experiencing a mild temporary reaction that's easily remedied, or if you're dealing with a serious underlying problem, says Dr. Cutler. "Many times, the answer is not immediately apparent and it requires a thorough medical evaluation to sort out," he adds.
"For example," Dr. Cutler explains, "you may have a mild cold with a little fever. When your temperature drops from sweating or Tylenol, you feel a chill. But you are also nervous about being ill, and that can result in chills. And you haven't eaten all day so your blood sugar drops, and this aggravates chills. But all of these can be treated easily at home with fluids, food, and more Tylenol."
But at other times, there might be a serious underlying infection, even without a particularly high fever. "Figuring out the exact cause and cure for these chills may require a careful medical evaluation, blood testing, and prescription medication," Dr. Cutler adds.
When to see a doctor"The key to finding the right cure for chills is in knowing the underlying cause… You can't just assume it's the flu because it is flu season," says Dr. Cutler. "Chills can indicate a serious condition requiring urgent medical evaluation."
"In addition, if patients are having chills with symptoms like chest pain, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, or any other unusual symptoms, patients should seek medical attention immediately," Dr. Sevilla adds.
Especially in the present age of COVID and the seasonal flu, it is easy for patients to assume that symptoms of chills could be something related to some kind of infection, and hope that the chills go away on their own, says Dr. Sevilla. "What I advise all of my patients is do not ignore what your body is telling you and talk with your family physician," he stresses. "What you're feeling could be a symptom of an underlying medical problem that needs appropriate testing, diagnosis, and treatment." If you have any questions about your health, check in with your family physician and get it taken care of.
Related StoriesMadeleine, Prevention's assistant editor, has a history with health writing from her experience as an editorial assistant at WebMD, and from her personal research at university. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience—and she helps strategize for success across Prevention's social media platforms.
Hurting All Over? Here Are 10 Common Causes Of Body Aches And How To Get Some Relief
Dealing with body aches is never fun, and often comes with a slew of questions. You might wonder why your body aches with no fever, or if you do have a fever and chills, is it because of COVID-19? Or maybe you do know why your body aches—that new high-intensity workout, perhaps?—you still might be wondering how totally different things can provoke similar types of pain and discomfort.
The answer, usually, is through inflammation.
"There's a process of inflammation that occurs when the body has an infection, and some of the inflammatory mediators that we use to fight the infection cause fever and body aches," says Erich Voigt, M.D., an otolaryngologist at NYU Langone Health. But a slew of other behaviors and conditions can amp up your body's inflammatory responses—like repetitive motion and stress—triggering body aches in the process, he notes.
So, why exactly do different parts of your body throb and twinge? Beyond our joints and muscles simply getting older, here is a closer look at the most common reasons for your body aches, why your body responds with pain in the first place, and how to find relief.
1. You've fallen victim to cold and flu season"The body aches related to an infection such as pharyngitis (sore throat) or flu are related to the immune system's response to the infection," says Stephen Parodi, M.D., infectious disease expert at Kaiser Permanente. "Our body releases certain chemicals, including ones called interferons, which help fight off the infection, but also cause body aches." What's more, your immune system is channeling most of your body's energy into fighting off the infection, causing you to feel super tired.
✖️Ease the aches: Take it slow and get some rest. Dr. Parodi suggests over-the-counter medications for pain relief, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, especially if you have the flu.
"Flu tends to make people sicker than regular cold viruses, and the body aches and fevers can be higher with flu. That's why it is so important to get vaccinated and prevent the infection altogether," he says.
2. You have mononucleosisTypically caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), mono is a type of infection common among teenagers and young adults, usually transmitted through saliva. The symptoms of mono include extreme fatigue, sore throat, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. And because it's infectious, like pharyngitis and flu, your immune system will have a similar inflammatory response, resulting in body aches.
✖️Ease the aches: Getting some rest, drinking lots of fluids, and taking some OTC meds for fever and pain should help you find relief, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There's no specific treatment plan for mono, since antibiotics can't zap viral infections. You should still touch base with your doc to get an official diagnosis, who will be able to provide prescription meds if another infection occurs at the same time, like strep throat.
3. You worked a little too hard in your last workoutTrying a new type of exercise (or even just working a muscle group you've ignored for a while) can make you feel sore post-sweat. That muscle soreness, specifically the delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) you feel a day or two after a hard workout, is the result of small tears in your tissues, according to a study published in Clinics in Sports Medicine. This results in inflammation, which causes that can't-sit-down-properly feeling in your legs after you've done one too many squats.
✖️Ease the aches: It's nothing to be worried about; DOMS is indicative of your muscles adapting to a new activity so they can do it again. Your muscles will heal within a few days, but doing a few foam-roller exercises during your recovery period can help speed the process up. Whether you like a deeper pressure or a more gentle muscle relief, there are plenty of foam roller options to choose from.
4. You're overworking one specific part of your bodyWhen you repeatedly use just one part of your body—whether while working out or typing at work—a more focused body ache and concentrated pain can take the form of a repetitive motion injury. A common example? Carpal tunnel syndrome.
Doing the same motion repeatedly can cause muscles, ligaments, and tendons to become swollen and inflamed, which causes the ache. In addition to aches, you may notice a lack of strength and reduced range of motion in the affected area.
✖️Ease the aches: Strengthening exercises through physical therapy, wearing braces to keep the area stable, and occupational therapy may be needed to get the body part functioning normally again.
5. You're stressedPsychological stress can have physical manifestations, from headaches to jaw pain to lower back pain. That's because when you're stressed, your body pumps out the hormone cortisol. While that's not a problem in the short-term, a 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association concludes that chronic stress can amp up inflammation, causing muscle breakdown, pain, and fatigue, among other symptoms. Plus, your body becomes more susceptible to infection when you can't chill out.
✖️Ease the aches: Take some time each day to manage your daily stressors. Just breathing deeply for a few minutes (or even meditating), taking a walk during your lunch break, or a hot bath after work can help rejuvenate your body and mind.
6. You're not sleeping wellYou know you need sleep to keep feeling alert, but you might not realize just how much your body really depends on it to remain ache-free. In a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers found the number one predictor of widespread pain, especially among adults over 50, is non-restorative sleep, or disruptive sleep (typically characterized by having trouble falling asleep or insomnia, waking in the middle of the night, or feeling excessively tired throughout the day).
✖️Ease the aches: Your musculoskeletal system needs at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night to repair itself daily. Can't seem to snooze soundly? These 16 ways to get a better night's sleep are a good place to start.
7. Lyme diseaseEven something as tiny as a tick can be responsible for your body aches. Blacklegged ticks infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, to be exact. Muscle and joint aches can be early indicators of Lyme disease, but they won't become severe if caught early enough. Other signs of Lyme disease include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and a bullseye-shaped rash.
Diagnosis mainly takes two things into consideration: the presence of these symptoms and the possibility of your exposure to ticks. About 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the CDC annually, but researchers estimate the true number of cases each year in the US is closer to 329,000.
✖️Ease the aches: If you suspect you have Lyme, seek medical treatment ASAP. The symptoms will only become more severe over time and can lead to complications like heart problems and severe joint pain. If you test positive for Lyme, your doc will prescribe antibiotics to rid your body of the infection.
8. ArthritisYou don't have to be old to have arthritis, which encompasses more than 100 different conditions. Inflammatory arthritis—which includes rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis—affects your entire body since they're autoimmune diseases, meaning your immune system goes a bit haywire and attacks healthy cells, spurring inflammation in the process. It's characterized by pain and stiffness after periods of inactivity, or by morning stiffness that lasts over an hour. You may also notice pain, swelling, and tenderness around your joints, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
✖️Ease the aches: First, you should touch base with your physician to pin down which specific disease could be wreaking havoc on your joints. Your treatment will depend on the diagnosis, but it's likely your doctor will recommend lifestyle changes (both physical and emotional—say, tweaking your diet or suggesting stress management tips). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen, along with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs may also be recommended to relieve pain and prevent further damage to your body.
9. FibromyalgiaWidely misunderstood but fairly common, fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread pain in your bones, muscles, or ligaments—which affects about 10 million Americans, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association. Your brain processes pain signals abnormally, heightening your body's experience of pain. That pain, which can develop over time or be triggered by something like surgery or infection, varies in intensity and will migrate all over the body. Most people with fibromyalgia, which disproportionately afflicts women, also experience chronic fatigue.
✖️Ease the aches: If a blood test confirms that you're suffering from fibromyalgia, you'll work with your doctor to tailor a treatment plan to your lifestyle. Medications like over-the-counter pain relievers, antidepressants (to help you relax and sleep), and anti-seizure drugs (also to ease pain) may be your first course of action, according to the Mayo Clinic. From there, physical or occupational therapy may be needed, as well as counseling if you struggle with stress.
10. LupusLupus is tricky to diagnose, but most people with this autoimmune disease experience achy joints and swelling. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates at least 1.5 million people are living with lupus in the United States. Symptoms may come and go, and can affect different organs in different people. A few other major signs to look out for include extreme fatigue, headaches, fever, a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and nose, hair loss, and Raynaud's phenomenon (a condition in which your fingers, and sometimes your toes, feel severely cold or even change color). While lupus pain typically occurs on both sides of the body at once, it tends to be more manageable than something like rheumatoid arthritis.
✖️Ease the aches: Depending on your body's specific reaction to the disease, your doctor may recommend a variety of medications to help you manage your symptoms, including NSAIDs (to treat pain and swelling), antimalarial drugs (to reduce flare-ups), corticosteroids (to fight inflammation), immunosuppressants (to keep your immune system under control in very severe cases), or biologics (to treat various symptoms).
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Why Does My Body Ache?
Body aches occur with many health conditions, including arthritis and the flu. If the pain lasts more than a few days, is severe, or occurs with other symptoms, you may need medical attention.
Often, rest and home treatment can relieve body aches. However, persistent or severe pain may have an underlying cause that needs medical attention.
A doctor can help you work out a treatment plan to relieve your aches and other associated symptoms.
Keep reading to learn more about 17 causes for body aches and pains and other symptoms of each, to help you work out what's happening.
We often think of stress as a mental health condition, but it can also impact the body on a cellular level.
In times of stress, the body can become more susceptible to infection and inflammation, and it may lead to aches and pains.
Other symptoms of stress and anxiety include:
Get some tips for relieving stress here.
Water is an essential ingredient for the body's normal and healthy functioning. Without it, you can become dehydrated, which can lead to muscle cramps.
Other symptoms of dehydration include:
What's the best way to rehydrate?
Anemia happens when your body doesn't have enough properly functioning red blood cells, so your body tissues can't get enough oxygen.
Some people who live with chronic conditions have anemia of inflammation. Experts believe this may result when a chronic condition affects how the body works, including how it uses iron.
Possible symptoms include:
What are some signs of iron deficiency anemia?
Hypocalcemia, or a low blood calcium level, can happen when you don't have enough calcium in your diet and vitamin D (calciferol) in your body from sunshine or your diet.
Your bones and muscles need calcium and vitamin D to stay healthy.
Low vitamin D levels can lead to:
How can I get more vitamin D?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition where your entire body feels exhausted, achy, and sensitive.
Why is happens is unclear, but older age and having lupus or rheumatoid arthritis seem to increase the risk.
Symptoms include:
Fibromyalgia diet: Can it help?
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), can cause you to feel exhausted and weak, no matter how much rest or sleep you get.
Possible causes include previous infection with the EBV or other viruses, genetic factors, and changes in the immune system.
Symptoms of CFS include:
Get some diet hacks to reduce chronic fatigue
Arthritis happens when your joints become inflamed. There are different types of arthritis, and symptoms can vary, but they all include joint pain.
Examples include:
Other symptoms of arthritis include:
Can Ayurvedic treatment help with arthritis?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that spreads through tick bites.
Symptoms develop in stages and include:
Without treatment, Lyme disease can lead to neuromuscular and joint conditions, such as arthritis and facial paralysis. It can also cause heart problems.
What is the Lyme disease antibody test?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune condition that affects the nervous system. It causes the myelin coverings around nerves to break down because of constant inflammation. As a result, the nerves cannot transmit messages effectively.
As a result, a person with MS will experience body aches and pain.
They may also experience:
What are the treatments for MS?
Sepsis is an extreme response to an infection. It happens when an infection in the lungs, skin, or elsewhere triggers an immune reaction throughout the body. It is a life-threatening emergency.
The symptoms of sepsis include:
Anyone with these symptoms needs urgent medical treatment, especially if they have a weakened immune system or already have an infection. It can quickly lead to septic shock, which can be fatal.
Cancer can cause general body pain if it spreads throughout the body or if a person has bone cancer. As late-stage cancer progresses, the pain will increase, and the person will need strong pain relief medication.
Depending on where cancer has spread, other late-stage symptoms may include:
Some cancer treatments can also cause bone pain.
Anyone with cancer or a previous diagnosis of cancer should speak with a doctor if they notice an onset of general pain or bone pain.
What are the stages of cancer?
Why do I have joint pain in the morning?Joint pain and stiffness that is present when you wake up and lasts 30 minutes or longer may be a sign of RA. RA usually affects more than one joint, and it occurs in corresponding joints on both sides of the body, for instance, both knees.
What does it mean when you have body aches but no fever?Body aches often happen with an infection, and you may also have a fever and chills. However, they also can occur without a fever, for instance, if you have been exercising more than usual, if you are not sleeping well, or if you are lacking nutrients, such as vitamin D or calcium.
How do you stop body aches?This will depend on the cause. If it is due to exercise, you will have to wait until they resolve. Some underlying conditions, such as a cold or the flu, respond to rest and home treatment. Other causes will need medical attention. In the case of sepsis, the person will need immediate help.
Does COVID-19 start with body aches?COVID-19 can cause body or muscle aches. However, the symptoms that appear first can vary from person to person.
What illness starts with body aches?You may have body aches with the flu, COVID-19, or another illness like mononucleosis or pneumonia. Some people may also experience slight aches with the common cold.
Seek emergency medication attention if you have body pain with the following symptoms:
If other, milder symptoms last for more than 2 weeks, see your doctor. They can examine you for a possible underlying condition. They will then work with you on a treatment plan to reduce the pain and treat the cause.
If you don't already have a primary care doctor, you can browse doctors in your area through the Healthline FindCare tool.
Body aches and pains can happen for many reasons, ranging from stress to sepsis. Many of these causes are not serious and will resolve without treatment, but some may need urgent medical treatment.
If so, a doctor will consider the aches and pains along with other symptoms and carry out various tests before making a diagnosis.
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