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No: while you still have a cold, you do not use the steam room. The safety sheet we publish lists «fever or acute infections» among the absolute contraindications, and a cold is an infection. The same goes for a fever or the flu, with no exceptions. And the studies collected do not show that warm, humid air makes you recover faster, nor are there any that prove a steam room prevents colds or flu, even though it is an idea you often read.
I'll explain where the rule comes from, what the studies on steam and colds say, why it also applies in a spa and how to start again once you have recovered.
Can you use a steam room with a cold?
According to the steam room safety sheet, no. Among the absolute contraindications it lists, each with its reason, «fever or acute infections» (worsening of general conditions) and «contagious infectious diseases» (risk of contagion and worsening). We read an active cold under the first item because it is an infection, the most common one in humans as the Cochrane review cited below points out; and the second item makes no distinction between the cabin at home and a shared one.
Inside the cabin it is 35 to 55 °C with 100% humidity: sweat does not evaporate and the body loses heat with more difficulty, as explained in the guide on sauna or steam room. The sheet gives the reason for the contraindication as the risk of «worsening of general conditions».
The same applies to the sauna: its safety sheet also rules out use with a fever above 37.5 °C or with an acute infection, until complete recovery. Between sauna and steam room, with a cold, there is no better choice: you wait.
With a fever or the flu the steam room is ruled out
If you have a fever there is no middle ground: it is named explicitly in the item «fever or acute infections», among the absolute contraindications. It also applies to the flu, which is an acute and contagious infection and so falls under the same two items.
The sheet also asks you to leave the cabin at once at the first sign of discomfort, dizziness, nausea or breathing difficulty. That applies to every session, including the first one after an illness.
Does steam clear your nose? What the research says
The idea that breathing warm, humid air helps against a cold has been studied, but in the studies collected by the Cochrane review not with a steam room. The review Heated, humidified air for the common cold (2017) collected six studies on 387 people, all using the same device, the RhinoTherm, which delivers warm, humid air into the nose.
The authors conclude that the current evidence shows neither benefits nor harms for treating the common cold, and that its quality is low. The same review notes that steam inhalation is still used because it gives subjective relief of symptoms.
On a blocked nose the results conflict: a study in the USA measured worse nasal resistance, an Israeli study an improvement. And the share of people reporting that their symptoms had cleared was not significantly higher. The relief steam can give does not mean recovering sooner, and with an infection in progress the sheet rules out the steam room anyway: for symptoms, the reference is your doctor or pharmacist.
Does a steam room prevent colds or flu?
There is not enough evidence to say so. A 1990 study concerns the sauna and the common cold, not the steam room or the flu: a group at the University of Vienna followed for six months 25 volunteers given regular sauna sessions and 25 who had none, and counted fewer colds in the first group (Ernst and colleagues, Annals of Medicine, 1990). That is 50 people, the length and severity of the colds did not differ between the two groups, and the authors themselves present the result as probable, to be confirmed by further studies.
Among the sources cited in this guide there are no similar studies on the steam room. On heat and viruses, the Cochrane review notes that in the laboratory the cold virus may be sensitive to heat, but in the only study that checked it the share of people with virus in their nasal washings was not significantly different from placebo. Sweat, as explained in the guide on sauna or steam room, is the way the body gets rid of heat. A steam room is a way to relax: the studies available do not show that it protects against seasonal viruses.
To prevent the flu, follow your national health authority. In Italy that is the circular the Ministry of Health publishes every year, collected by EpiCentro of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (in Italian): hygiene and personal protection measures, and vaccination for the groups it is recommended for.
In a spa the rule protects other people too
The sheet lists contagious infectious diseases among the absolute contraindications, with the reason «risk of contagion and worsening». It applies to the cabin at home, where the people sitting with you are those you live with or your guests, and it applies to a spa or a hotel wellness area, where the people in the cabin are strangers.
If you have booked a spa day and caught a cold, it is better to move it: it is also a matter of courtesy, like the rules collected in the guide on sauna etiquette.
When to start again, and how
When the fever has gone and the infection is no longer running. The steam room sheet does not set a number of days, and it is not for this guide to set one; the sauna sheet says «until complete recovery». If you have a medical condition, the sheet requires your doctor's opinion, and after a bad bout of flu ask for it anyway before going back into the cabin.
At the first session it pays to start gently. The use sheet has no specific guidance for people coming back after an illness: the lowest values it gives are those for beginners, 35 to 40 °C and sessions of 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards it calls for a cool shower, not a cold one, at least 15 minutes of rest and at least half a litre of water. For the control panel and settings of your model, for example a BL-2B steam room with 2 seats, its manual is the reference.
Frequently asked questions
Is a steam room good for a cold?
There is no evidence that it helps you recover sooner: the Cochrane review on warm, humid air, studied with a nasal device and not with a steam room, showed neither benefits nor harms. And while the cold is running the safety sheet rules out the steam room, because acute infections are among the absolute contraindications.
Can you use a steam room with a fever?
No. Fever is named explicitly in the item «fever or acute infections», an absolute contraindication in the safety sheet. You wait until it has passed.
Can you use a steam room with the flu?
No: the flu is an acute and contagious infection, so it falls under two absolute contraindications of the sheet. With other people in the cabin, at home or in a spa, there is also the risk of passing it on.
Is a sauna or a steam room better with a cold?
Neither. The sauna sheet also rules out use with a fever above 37.5 °C or with an acute infection, until complete recovery. You start again once you have recovered.
Does a steam room prevent the flu?
No study proves it. The only study cited in this guide on the subject concerns the sauna and the common cold, not the steam room or the flu: 50 volunteers, and the authors themselves call for more research. For the flu, hygiene, personal protection and vaccination apply, as recommended by health authorities.
How long after a cold can you go back to the steam room?
When fever and infection have passed: the sheet does not give a number of days. To start again, the lowest values in the use sheet are those for beginners (35 to 40 °C, 10 to 15 minutes); if you had a bad bout or have a medical condition, ask your doctor first.
What to do, in order
- With an active cold, a fever or the flu, no steam room: it is an absolute contraindication in the safety sheet.
- Do not switch to the sauna instead: its sheet also rules it out with a fever above 37.5 °C or an acute infection, until complete recovery.
- Do not count on the steam room as a treatment: the 2017 Cochrane review, six studies on 387 people with a device delivering warm, humid air into the nose, showed neither benefits nor harms on the common cold.
- If you have booked a spa or wellness centre, move the booking: the sheet flags the risk of contagion for the people in the cabin with you.
- To prevent the flu, follow your health authority's recommendations: hygiene, personal protection and vaccination if you are in one of the groups indicated.
- Once recovered, start from the use sheet's beginner values (35 to 40 °C, 10 to 15 minutes), then a cool shower, at least 15 minutes of rest and half a litre of water; after a bad bout of flu or with a medical condition, ask your doctor first.
One idea to avoid is going into the cabin to «sweat out» a cold. You use a steam room with no infection running: while there is one, you wait, and the day you come back you start gently.
For a question about your model or how to use it, there is customer support. The models are in the steam room category, and a few questions about your space and how you will use it narrow down the catalogue. You can read who we are on the about us page.
The guidance in this guide summarises the safety sheet published on our support site for the steam rooms we sell and the sources cited, and it does not replace the manufacturer's manual for your model. Catalogue data (dimensions, seats) is read from the product pages and updates with the catalogue. With a fever or an infection in progress the steam room is ruled out by the safety sheet. This information does not replace medical advice: if you have a medical condition, are pregnant or are taking medication, the assessment is for your doctor before you use the steam room or the sauna.
