# What causes a piss Shiver? Does it happen to women too? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2026, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562 "2026-02-11T00:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/21 "2026-02-12T02:34:32Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > As a female person I have pee shivers and I don’t pee. Ever But do you piss? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/22 "2026-02-12T12:50:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Or are you saying you have cold bathroom shivers that happen when you get undressed enough to piss? > > I _ **hate** _ cold bathrooms! This. Our house heats unevenly and the coldest place is the bathroom. I also hate cold bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/23 "2026-02-12T22:29:26Z")
I have never understood why this phenomenon seems to be uniformly described as occurring exclusively **during** or **after** urination. What about the brief uncontrollable shiver you can get **before** urinating, when you really gotta go? Am I really the only one? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/24 "2026-02-12T22:37:59Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > What about the brief uncontrollable shiver you can get **before** urinating, when you really gotta go? Am I really the only one? I get that too. In fact I only get them before. I thought “piss shivers” meant before, and had no idea anybody gets them during or after. P.S. I’m a cis male. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/25 "2026-02-12T22:45:18Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I get that too. In fact I only get them before. Yeah, same! Urologists, rethink your assumptions! (And for the OP’s data point, I am cis female.) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/26 "2026-02-12T22:51:11Z")
I tend to piss folks off. 😳 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/27 "2026-02-12T23:19:59Z")
I (male) have heard of piss shivers before, and maybe once or twice had them, but I counted them as the same unintentional shivers I generally get sometimes when not peeing. I sometimes know what they’re triggered by, a random thought about some past inconvenience or embarrassment, or watching/hearing/smelling/reading something undesirable, but sometimes they come out of the blue. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/28 "2026-02-12T23:39:25Z")
I’ve formulated a hypothesis that my urethra has a tendency to keep its pH at a relatively basic level (above 7.0) in case semen will be passing through, and the introduction of slightly acidic urine causes a low-grade exothermic reaction to occur. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/29 "2026-02-13T00:29:43Z")
If, and I mean this not as a joke, it burns when you pee, you may want to get that checked out. Maybe what you’re calling a low-grade exothermic reaction is actually a symptom of a low grade urinary tract infection. OTOH, if that’s the case, without treating it I’d make the uneducated guess that it would either clear up on it’s own or get painful enough that you’d have already sought medical help for it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/30 "2026-02-13T00:36:04Z")
That’s why I went to my PCP for a blood test and left a urine sample for a culture. Blood test is to see if I’m developing an infection. I had problems with sepsis. My bp drops dramatically before I get really ill. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/31 "2026-02-13T00:52:45Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If, and I mean this not as a joke, it burns when you pee, you may want to get that checked out. Maybe what you’re calling a low-grade exothermic reaction is actually a symptom of a low grade urinary tract infection. OTOH, if that’s the case, without treating it I’d make the uneducated guess that it would either clear up on it’s own or get painful enough that you’d have already sought medical help for it. Thank you, but I haven’t found it to be chronic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/32 "2026-02-13T02:57:15Z")
Something like this must have an impressive sounding German noun? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/33 "2026-02-13T03:16:32Z")
Can someone define a pee shiver? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/34 "2026-02-13T03:18:13Z")
Climax during sex? But a pee shiver isn’t nearly as intense or enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/35 "2026-02-13T06:02:45Z")
Obviously it’s different for everybody. For some, maybe they only notice a cold draft in the bathroom. I wish piss shivers didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/36 "2026-02-13T10:45:53Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Something like this must have an impressive sounding German noun? Unfortunately not, to shiver just means “schaudern” with “Schauder” as the noun. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562/37 "2026-02-13T14:24:27Z")
Yes, I suppose “Pinkelschauder” might be the name of some pedantic fusspot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-piss-shiver-does-it-happen-to-women-too/1027562.md?page=1)