Post-micturition convulsion syndrome, also colloquially known as pee shivers, piss shivers, or piss quiver, is a phenomenon in which one feels a shiver running down the spine

Vertebral column

In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...

 following urination

Urination

Urination, also known as micturition, voiding, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans the process of urination is under voluntary control...

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The shiver can produce a brief twitch, which is a form of myoclonus

Myoclonus

Myoclonus is brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles. It describes a medical sign and, generally, is not a diagnosis of a disease. Brief twitches are perfectly normal. The myoclonic twitches are usually caused by sudden muscle contractions; they also can result from brief...

. It should not be confused with micturition syncope

Micturition syncope

Micturition syncope or post-micturition syncope is the name given to the human phenomenon of fainting shortly after or during urination.People often become pale, nauseated, sweaty and weak before they lose consciousness...

, a feeling of faintness following passing urine.

To date, despite years of discussion and theorizing, there is no agreed-on explanation of the phenomenon and no medical research into it.

External links

• What causes "piss shiver"? The Straight Dope
• "Why do you sometimes shiver when you wee?" The Register
  The Register
  The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
  
  
• Do women get the "Piss Shivers"? Or is it strictly a male Phenomanon?