Most doctors will notice that when they examine a patient who has recently been bingeing on large amounts of alcohol their skin feels hot. No fever, or temperature -just hot. In heavy drinkers, alcohol is broken down and converted, not to chemical energy to be used or stored in the body, but to heat energy which is radiated through the skin. This is the reason a heavy drinker, during an alcohol binge, will not feel the cold, even in sub-zero conditions.