4. Sweating and Chills
Anyone dealing with a bout of the flu will tell you that it’s the strangest thing to feel freezing and experience chills while you’re dealing with a fever. Bacteria and viruses begin to lose their ability to replicate when your body temperature rises above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the reason why the body releases pyrogens to turn up the heat on the invading pathogens.
When your hypothalamus re-sets the temperature point, it takes your body a while to catch up. During the resultant lag, your body will feel cold, and you begin to shiver, even though your temperature is rising. When you sweat during this temperature change, it makes your skin feel cold and clammy.
As your body adjusts to the new temperature set point, the chills dissipate, and you’re left feeling the effects of the fever. During a temperature increase, it’s common to experience an increase in the amount of sweat you produce. Sweating keeps the body cool and prevents damage to your organs in the midst of a fever.