Using a steam room is not a dangerous thing to do but it is best that you do take notice of any medical advice that is given. It is not often that adults will be told not to use a steam room but there are occasions when it will either be best to keep away for a while or limit either the amount of time you spend in there or at least limit the heat.
Risk of Steam Rooms for Pregnant Women
One group of people who are advised to stay away from steam rooms are pregnant women. There are a number of reasons for this and they are all connected to the well-being of the unborn child. Pregnant women tend to find that they are quite hot most of the time and if they overheat too much there can be problems. Everyone gets hot in a steam room – that is the point really – so if you are pregnant do the sensible thing and stay away. If the mother to be finds her heart rate rises too much this will mean that the blood that flows to the baby will be affected and it can lead to the baby becoming deformed. In the worst cases the baby could die. This will be even worse if the pregnancy is in the early stages. As you may not know that you are pregnant if you are trying for a baby it may be best to stop using steam rooms anyway just in case.
Other Risks of Steam Rooms
There are other risks to using steam rooms and this applies to children. There are a couple of reasons why they should stay away. When you are in the steam room you sweat a great deal and this is the body’s way of dealing with the extra heat. Children do not sweat in the same way that adults do so they would have no way of regulating their body temperature. It would not be good for them being hot for too long. There is also the fact that their lungs are not fully developed. There will be a lot of steam around and they will not be able to function normally when they breathe in the vapours.
There can be risks for anyone who uses a steam room and it is a matter of common sense as to how you use your steam room. No one should let their bodies overheat and if you feel that it will happen even if you have not been in the steam room for the 20 minutes you should get out. If you do become ill in the steam room there is the risk of passing out and this can lead to either an injury due to a fall and/or the possibility of being in the steam room longer than you should be.
There is no need to worry that you are going to become ill from using a steam room if you are sensible and stick to the guidelines.