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General & Whole-Body Symptoms
Symptoms that affect the whole body rather than one part of it: fever, chills, sweating, tiredness, appetite and weight changes, thirst and swollen glands. These pages explain what each symptom usually feels like, the conditions it can be associated with, and the warning signs that mean it should be checked promptly.
This page lists all 15 of them in the guide. Open any symptom for its possible causes, red-flag list and frequently asked questions.
ChillsGeneral
Excessive sweatingGeneral
Excessive thirstGeneral
FatigueGeneral
Feeling cold all the timeGeneral
Feeling generally unwell (malaise)General
FeverGeneral
Fever that keeps coming backGeneral
Getting infections oftenGeneral
Loss of appetiteGeneral
Night sweatsGeneral
Signs of dehydrationGeneral
Swollen glandsGeneral
Unexplained weight lossGeneral
Weight gainGeneral| Symptom | Category | What it can feel like |
|---|---|---|
| Chills | General | Chills are waves of feeling cold with shivering or shaking, even when the room is warm. They often arrive just before or during a fever, as the body raises its… |
| Excessive sweating | General | Excessive sweating means sweating much more than the situation calls for — palms that drip, shirts soaked through on a cool day, or generalised sweating episodes that… |
| Excessive thirst | General | Excessive thirst means feeling thirsty most of the time even though you are drinking plenty — waking at night to drink, or always wanting a drink at hand. It often goes… |
| Fatigue | General | Fatigue is a persistent tiredness that does not lift properly with rest — feeling drained, heavy and without energy for ordinary tasks. It is different from normal… |
| Feeling cold all the time | General | Feeling cold all the time means you reach for extra layers when others are comfortable, with cold hands and feet and sometimes a general chilliness that a warm room does… |
| Feeling generally unwell (malaise) | General | Feeling generally unwell — malaise — is the whole-body sense that something is not right: heavy, achy, off your food, unable to concentrate, without one single symptom… |
| Fever | General | A fever is a body temperature that is higher than usual — the body deliberately turns its thermostat up, most often while fighting an infection. It usually comes with… |
| Fever that keeps coming back | General | A fever that keeps coming back means fevers that settle, then return days or weeks later in a repeating pattern. In children this is often simply one virus after… |
| Getting infections often | General | Getting infections often means repeated colds that turn into chest infections, repeated urine infections, boils, thrush or sinus trouble that keep coming back.… |
| Loss of appetite | General | Loss of appetite means food stops appealing to you — you feel full quickly, skip meals, or have to make yourself eat. A day or two off your food during an illness is… |
| Night sweats | General | Night sweats are episodes of heavy sweating during sleep that soak nightclothes or bedding and are not explained by a warm room or heavy covers. Occasional mild sweating… |
| Signs of dehydration | General | Dehydration means the body has lost more water than it has taken in. Early signs are thirst, a dry mouth, darker urine and passing urine less often; as it worsens there… |
| Swollen glands | General | Swollen glands means the lymph nodes — small filtering stations of the immune system in the neck, armpits, groin and elsewhere — have enlarged enough to feel, sometimes… |
| Unexplained weight loss | General | Unexplained weight loss means losing a noticeable amount of weight without trying — clothes becoming loose over a few months without any change in eating or activity.… |
| Weight gain | General | Weight gain means your body weight gradually increases over weeks to months. Some of it is fat gain from eating and activity patterns, but weight can also rise because… |
Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.