Chills are your body’s way of generating heat, and getting rid of them depends on what’s causing them. If you’re fighting an infection, your brain has temporarily raised its internal thermostat, making your normal body temperature feel too cold. If you’re simply exposed to cold air or have low blood sugar, the fix is more straightforward. Either way, a few practical steps can bring relief quickly.
Why Your Body Produces Chills
The thermoregulatory center in your brain, located in the hypothalamus, acts like a thermostat. It receives temperature information from sensors in your skin and throughout your body, then sends signals to keep you at roughly 98.6°F. When everything is working normally, the system hums along in the background.
During an infection, your immune system releases signaling molecules that push that thermostat higher, sometimes to 101°F, 102°F, or beyond. Your brain now “thinks” your normal temperature is too low and triggers the same warming response you’d get standing outside in winter: your skeletal muscles contract rapidly and involuntarily, producing heat through shivering. This is why you can feel freezing cold even while running a fever. The chills won’t fully stop until your core temperature catches up to whatever new set point your brain has chosen, or until the fever itself breaks.
Immediate Steps That Help
The most effective approach combines warmth, hydration, and rest. None of these will cure the underlying cause, but they support the process your body is already running and reduce discomfort while it works.
Layer up, but lightly. Dress in light clothing and use a sheet or light blanket rather than piling on heavy covers. The goal is comfort, not overheating. Once your fever breaks and your thermostat resets back to normal, too many layers will trap excess heat and make you sweat heavily.
Stay hydrated. Fever increases fluid loss, and dehydration makes chills feel worse. Water, diluted juice, and broth all work well. If you’re vomiting or struggling to keep fluids down, take small sips frequently rather than large amounts at once.
Keep the room cool but comfortable. This sounds counterintuitive when you’re shivering, but a slightly cool room helps your body regulate temperature more efficiently. Use your blanket to manage personal warmth rather than cranking the heat.
Over-the-Counter Fever Reducers
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) both lower the thermostat set point in your brain, which reduces the gap between where your temperature is and where your body thinks it should be. As that gap shrinks, the shivering signal weakens and chills ease up. Most people notice improvement within 30 to 60 minutes of taking a dose.
Follow the dosage instructions on the packaging carefully, especially with acetaminophen, which can cause liver damage at high doses. If you’re using a combination cold medicine, check the ingredient list: many already contain acetaminophen, and doubling up is a common and dangerous mistake.
Skip the Cold Bath
You might assume that cooling down a feverish body with a cold or lukewarm bath would help, but research shows otherwise. A study on tepid sponge baths found no significant temperature difference after two hours compared to doing nothing, and the bathed group had significantly higher discomfort scores, including more shivering and crying. Physical cooling methods are generally discouraged for fever because they fight your body’s thermostat rather than resetting it, which can actually intensify the shivering reflex. The exception is true hyperthermia from heat exposure, which is a different mechanism entirely.
Chills Without a Fever
Not all chills come from infection. If you don’t have a fever (defined medically as 100.4°F or 38°C and above), several other causes are worth considering.
- Cold exposure: The simplest explanation. Moving to a warmer environment, adding layers, and drinking a warm beverage will usually resolve these chills within minutes.
- Low blood sugar: People with diabetes sometimes experience chills when blood sugar drops too low. Eating or drinking something with fast-acting carbohydrates and then following up with a balanced snack can help stabilize things.
- Hypothermia: When body temperature falls below 95°F (35°C), shivering becomes intense and may eventually stop as the condition worsens. This is a medical emergency requiring immediate warming and professional help.
- Emotional or stress responses: Anxiety, fear, and intense emotions can trigger chills through the same nervous system pathways. These typically pass on their own once the emotional trigger resolves.
In each of these cases, the chills resolve when the underlying trigger is addressed. Treating a fever that isn’t there with medication won’t help.
Managing Chills in Children
Children shiver for the same reasons adults do, but medication rules are stricter. Never give aspirin to a child, as it has been linked to Reye syndrome, a rare but serious condition affecting the liver and brain. Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be given to children under four years old due to the risk of dangerous side effects.
Ibuprofen is safe for children six months and older, but should be avoided if the child is dehydrated or vomiting heavily. Always dose by weight when possible, using a marked syringe or dosing cup rather than a kitchen spoon. For children under two, call your pediatrician before giving any medication. For infants under three months with a fever, call right away.
For babies under one year, oral rehydration solutions are preferable to water or juice for replacing lost fluids, since they contain the right balance of salts and sugars to prevent dehydration.
When Chills Signal Something Serious
Most chills from a common cold or flu resolve within a few days as the infection clears. But certain combinations warrant prompt medical attention. A temperature above 104°F (40°C) or below 95°F (35°C) in an adult or child over three needs evaluation. The same goes for chills accompanied by a stiff neck, confusion, difficulty breathing, severe abdominal pain, or a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed. Chills that persist for several days without improvement, or that keep returning without an obvious cause, are also worth getting checked out.
Recurring chills with no clear trigger sometimes point to conditions like thyroid disorders, anemia, or autoimmune issues. A basic blood workup can usually narrow down the cause.