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

Water is always in your lungs. A tiny bit more won’t hurt. So long as you don’t add enough to significantly change the water content of the lungs it’s no trouble at all.

Think about all of the water you breathe out. That’s all water that was in your lungs and evaporated.