Experiencing Fever And Cold After Drinking Alcohol. Reason?

Posted on Tue, 26 Mar 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 Answered on

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Why do i get fever and chills after drinking alcohol?

Answered by Dr. Payman Hajiazim (42 minutes later)

Hi there, thanks for asking. Please specify which kind of symptoms you experience. Do you drink regularly? Alcohol can weaken the immune system and people who drink is chronically will find a weakened immune system and susceptible to many infections like common cold. That can cause fever and chills.
On the other hand, drinking alcohol cause dilation of vessels under the skin and it can cause loss of heat from the body. It can cause feeling hot for the first a few minutes,and chills after a while.
Let me know if you have received your answer. Best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Payman Hajiazim (2 hours later)

I do not drink regularly. Once a week at the most and only one or two glasses of beer or Wine. Over the last few months I have been very sick with 100+ fever, chills and body shakes starting in the early morning hours after a pint of beer or a glass of wine. These are consumed with a meal. I'm weak and feverish for about 24hr. This has happened on 4 different occasions with 2 or 3 weeks of no alcohol in between.

Answered by Dr. Payman Hajiazim (1 hour later)

Hi there, thanks for the explanation. Chill in the early morning after drinking alcohol is related to low blood sugar. It happens frequently specially if the person does not eat something before going to bed. The symptoms could remain for whole the day. You may drink less and/or eat something before going to bed and in the early morning (like XXXXXXX juice) to prevent the symptoms. Best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar