Why do you get a fever when you get the flu?

Answer 1

Answer

When you have a fever your internal thermostat is set too high therefore a room temperature which would feel comfortable if your temperature was normal gives you a chill if your temperature is raised.

The above answer is an oversimplification. When you shiver, it is your body's way of warming itself up. The repetitive oscillations of your muscles give off heat which raise the body's core temperature. When you have a fever, it is because your body is using the heat to kill off the invading organisms. When it needs a little more help getting the core temperature up, it signals the body to begin shivering to raise the temperature even more.

Answer 2

i have been having chills i have no fever and i researched some thing some say fever but i dont have one... others say that it is a thyroid problem. i asked my mom and she doesnt know if i find anymore information i will tell you. i wish you lots of luck finding the answer.

Answer 3

It is usually because you have a fever, and the way the body deals with a fever is by sweating to cool itself by evaporation, just like it does when you are out in the heat of summer and start sweating to cool off. Being hot also will dilate your blood vessels of the skin to move more heat out of the body faster. But you usually don't feel the chill (or as much) when you cool off if the heat is coming from the outside on a hot day, like you do when the heat is coming from the inside with a fever.

A fever is an increase in the core body temperature and the extra heat from that (which the body uses as one of its ways to kill germs) radiates out of your body through the dilated vessels and cooling skin.

Your hypothalamus gland (also called the "brain's brain") functions as the body's thermostat, among many other duties. And, because it is making its temperature control decisions based on the core body temperature, it will not stop the cooling measures until the core temperature comes down, even if your skin and outer layers are no longer hot. The skin then may feel the sensation of cooling from evaporation, which you can also feel to the touch. That can trigger shivering which the skin does in reaction to feeling cold.

But since the hypothalamus uses the core temperatures, it continues to try to cool until the fever is gone. So in a sense two body systems are working against each other...but the hypothalamus wins. It takes longer to cool the inside of your body than it does to cool the outside. So, even though you can feel the cooling off on your skin, and even get the sensation of chills from drafts and being cold on the wet outside of your body, it is still trying to cool the core temperature deep inside. That can make you feel cold on the outside even though you are still too hot on the inside.

Many people believe that if they feel a chill with a fever they should bundle up tight and get in bed and "sweat it out". This is a fallacy. This is especially important for infants. Do not wrap them up in blankets that way, since that can increase the fever. It also increases the perspiration and adds to dehydration from a fever if the liquids are not replaced. Any time infants have a fever, you should contact the pediatrician for advice and do not give them fever reducers without the professional advice to determine if it is appropriate.

Answer 4

When the virus enters your body, your blood cells try to fight against the virus. that causes the white blood cells to rise and heat up your blood.

Answer 5

your body heats up naturally to fight the infection. its an immune response to kill the virus. cells are killed by heat!

Answer 6

The "chills" that often accompany a fever are caused by the movement of blood to the body's core, leaving the surface and extremities cold.