What Causes Shivering During Night?

Posted on Tue, 22 Jul 2014

Question: My 83 year old husband has begun to have severe shivers during the night It happened once last week and last night. He takes medication for depression, PTSD, thyroid, and oxycodone for pain (he broke his back and has a ladder-like stabilizer).

Answered by Dr. Kerry Pottinger (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Possible urinary infection.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for using Healthcare Magic.
From the information you have provided, the most likely cause of your husbands shivers is an infection. There is not always a fever associated with infections.
I suggest he sees his doctor and a likely cause of an infection would be a urinary infection. In which case he will need antibiotics. Other possibilities would be a chest infection.
I hope this is help. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
Dr K A Pottinger,
MBChB. FRCA

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar