How Long for Steam Shower for Relief of Chest Congestion?

Chest congestion is caused by both inflammation of the air passages in your lungs and the build up of phlegm in your chest. Relief from both of these situations comes from dilating (relaxing and opening up) those air passages so air flows more freely through them. Steam is generated by hot water either in a shower or a steam room (steam bath) or in a vaporizer. Breathing in steam helps relax the muscles in your diaphragm, loosens the air passageways in your lungs and helps calm and regulate breathing. Standing in a hot shower or sitting in a steam bath also helps relax the rest of your body. As your body and airways relax, the air passages in your chest and lungs open up, allowing for easier, more restful breathing. It also allows space to expectorate, that is cough up, the phlegm that has built up there. There are medications that can accomplish this same result, but steam offers a chemical-free option to relieving this discomfort.Man breathing in steam (Image: George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images)