Marine Medicine; Nature, Applications, Opportunities

Marine medicine is one of the medical fields that deals with the health and safety of people related to the sea. However, it is an isolated profession which, despite its importance, has received less attention and the skills and competencies required are still debated. By searching and gathering information in published papers in this field, three main areas of marine medicine including marine therapeutic applications, diseases and health problems caused by the marine environment and diseases and health problems caused by marine occupations were identified. Therapeutic applications of the sea include the two main areas of thalassotherapy and marine therapeutic products. In addition to the direct use of climate and sea environment in the treatment of diseases, a variety of products obtained from the sea also have unique properties and can be used to treat many diseases. Diseases and health problems caused by the marine environment include animals related issues, scuba diving related issues and toxins related issues. Animal-related illnesses and health problems include marine animals that cause serious injuries, marine animals that cause severe electric shocks, marine animals that are poisonous, and marine animals that have venomous stings. The most important diseases and health problems related to diving include oxygen poisoning, carbon dioxide poisoning, pulmonary barotrauma, barotrauma of the ear and sinuses, and decompression sickness. Toxins-related diseases and health problems include neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, amnesic shellfish poisoning and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, ciguatera fish poisoning, edible crab poisoning and mercury poisoning. Also, diseases and health problems caused by marine occupations include health problems and diseases related to safety, physical and mental health. Therefore, in the marine medicine education, the three main areas of marine medicine and the topics related to each of them should be considered.