Why is it that we can breathe in steam/water vapor, and not worry about small amounts of water getting into our lungs?

Question

I take a lot of hot showers, and sometimes I find myself wondering why I am able to breathe in the steam around me and not worry about any water-in-lungs related health concerns. How is breathing in steam different than breathing in small amounts of water droplets?

In: 6500

Answer 1

Steam is invisible and scaldingly hot, the cloudy stuff you can see coming off of boiling water is just the water vapor that has condensed in the cooler air.