What do chills feel like with pneumonia?

During a pneumonia-related chill, you may feel cold despite a warm room, develop goosebumps, or shake enough to make speaking or holding a cup difficult. The episode may occur with cough, phlegm, chest discomfort, fever, breathlessness, headache, or aching muscles. Some people feel unusually weak rather than visibly shaking.

Chills are a body response to changing temperature and inflammation; they do not show how severe a lung infection is by themselves. A clinician may need to listen to your chest, check oxygen levels, and decide whether further tests or treatment are needed.

Contact a clinician promptly if chills occur with a new cough, fever, chest pain, or shortness of breath. Rest, drink fluids if appropriate, dress in comfortable layers, and note when the shaking begins and whether breathing changes. Take prescribed medicines exactly as directed and avoid using leftover antibiotics.

Get emergency help for severe or rapidly increasing breathlessness, blue or grey lips, new confusion, fainting, severe chest pain, inability to stay awake, or difficulty speaking because of breathing. Older adults and people with heart or lung disease should seek assessment early when chills accompany respiratory symptoms.

Ask what may be causing the chills, whether your oxygen level needs checking, which changes in cough or breathing should trigger urgent care, and how to take any prescribed treatment safely.