chill (redirected from chills)

chill (chil) a sensation of cold, with convulsive shaking of the body.

---

chill (chl)

n.

A feeling of cold, with shivering and pallor, sometimes accompanied by an elevation of temperature in the interior of the body.

---

chill

Etymology: AS, cele

1 the sensation of cold caused by exposure to a cold environment.

2 an attack of shivering with pallor and a feeling of coldness, often occurring at the beginning of an infection and accompanied by a rapid rise in temperature.

---

chill [chil]

a sensation of cold, with convulsive shaking of the body. A true chill, or rigor, results from an increase in chemical activity within the body and usually ushers in a considerable rise in body temperature. The pallor and coldness of a chill, and the piloerection of the skin (goose flesh) that often accompanies it, are caused by constriction of the peripheral blood vessels. Chills are symptomatic of a wide variety of diseases. They usually do not accompany well-localized infections.

Patient Care. During a chill sufficient heat should be applied to maintain normal body temperature. Since the patient will most likely begin to have a sharp rise in body temperature immediately after or during the chill, it is best to use only a light blanket to alleviate the sensation of cold. In addition to this the patient's temperature should be taken every 30 minutes until it is stabilized.

---

chill

see rigor, hypothermia.

---

chill

Clinical medicine 1. A sensation of coldness often accompanied by shivering, chattering of teeth, goosebumps–gooseflesh, and skin pallor, which may follow exposure to a cold, damp environment, or precede or occur at the same time as a cold; chills are a response to an abrupt disparity between the set point of the hypothalamic thermostat and the blood temperature