Chills and Rigors
Tuberculous patients also present with chills and rigors. This symptom is seen when the body temperature elevates rapidly while shivering of the body occurs spontaneously. This elevated body temperature is like a paradox because they often have a feeling of being cold (chills).
After the shivering phase ends the body temperature spikes again causing a very high fever. The patient then sweats to lose the high body temperature and it cools down again. The shivering and chills that accompany this high body temperature have a purpose. The purpose is to create enough heat for the body to meet the temperature set by the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus acts as a thermostat that tells the body the temperature it should set itself.
This thermostat works properly but in disease conditions, it becomes faulty. Pyrogens that are released in disease conditions like tuberculosis tells the hypothalamus to adjust its temperature range. It raises the range to a higher level, hence the body tries to meet up with this new temperature range. This is why all the shivering and rigor occur in tuberculosis to meet the temperature range of the hypothalamus.
All of the above are symptoms of pulmonary Tuberculosis. This is Tuberculosis that is confined to the lungs. However, it can infiltrate other organs in the body where it causes specific diseases. For instance, in the urogenital system, it causes urogenital tuberculosis. This results in frequent urination, loin pain, pain on urination, etc.