Chills

Chills ( latin fever undularis ) denotes involuntary, rapid tremors of the skeletal muscles. This usually goes along with a cold feeling. Often the chills is that the disease introductory Frost feeling of the patient - especially in acute febrile diseases ( malaria attack). He also acts as a secondary symptom of other different diseases.

Appearance

Chills manifested by an affiliated feeling cold tremor of skeletal muscle, a rapid and continuous sequence of contraction and relaxation. Chills may deliberately not be affected. This mainly affects large muscles of the thighs and the back, but also the muscles of mastication. Since operation of the muscles of heat is generated, the body is heated. Chills occurs usually in bursts of a few minutes duration.

Often four stages of Schüttelsfrostes be distinguished:

The appearance is similar to the muscle tremors in body hypothermia. The rapid clonic spasms of many muscles, which are the only characteristic of an ague, but can not be reliably differentiated from a simple tremor, like having him many ordinary people in the excitement.

Causes

In healthy people, meet the metabolic processes of the liver and normal muscle activity to maintain a core body temperature of about 37 ° C. During infection by pathogens, this setpoint can be adjusted by pyrogens to a higher value. Then, the current body temperature is too low a value, then the regulatory system responds by by muscle tremors, changes in metabolism and blood flow to the limbs for an increase in body temperature (see temperature regulation ) provides it.

Chills may occur as an accompanying symptom of various diseases. Often there is a febrile illness, such as malaria or influenza, but also in sunstroke can cause chills. Other typical diseases are pneumonia, scarlet fever, erysipelas, tetanus, pyelonephritis, and fungal or blood poisoning.

In addition to these pathological causes a chills may also purely physiologically by a sudden, large or prolonged exposure to cold formed ( shivering ).

Diagnostics

The chills represents a strong stress on the heart and circulation and metabolism dar. Since it is the chills often is a septic bacteria sowing in the blood ( bacteremia ), as a result, new outbreaks occur (sepsis), should be as a blood culture taken.

The usual other inflammatory and pathogen diagnostics to search for a site of inflammation in the body is also necessary.

Differential diagnosis

• Withdrawal symptoms
• Hyperthyroidism
• Other mental states of excitement

Therapy

A Schüttelfrostanfall may be terminated by the intravenous administration of an opiate or opioid, such as tramadol. Also, the use of heat blankets makes sense. A hot bath creates a quick remedy and is in an emergency, the most obvious solution to the old house medicine. Usually one will start after approval of a bacteriological diagnosis and antibiotic treatment.