Ann Occup Environ Med.  2013 ;25(1):39.

Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine as a Branch of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

• Lee YI
• Ye BJ

Abstract

Exposure to the underwater environment for occupational or recreational purposes is increasing. As estimated, there are around 7 million divers active worldwide and 300,000 more divers in Korea. The underwater and hyperbaric environment presents a number of risks to the diver. Injuries from these hazards include barotrauma, decompression sickness, toxic effects of hyperbaric gases, drowning, hypothermia, and dangerous marine animals. For these reasons, primary care physicians should understand diving related injuries and assessment of fitness to dive. However, most Korean physicians are unfamiliar with underwater and hyperbaric medicine (UHM) in spite of scientific and practical values. From occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) specialist's perspective, we believe that UHM should be a branch of OEM because OEM is an area of medicine that deals with injuries caused by physical and biological hazards, clinical toxicology, occupational diseases, and assessment of fitness to work. To extend our knowledge about UHM, this article will review and update on UHM including barotrauma, decompression illness, toxicity of diving gases and fitness for diving.

Keyword

Underwater and hyperbaric medicine; Occupational and environmental medicine; Barotrauma; Decompression illness; Toxicity of diving gases; Fitness for diving

MeSH Terms

Animals
Barotrauma
Decompression
Decompression Sickness
Diving
Drowning
Environmental Medicine*
Gases
Humans
Hypothermia
Korea
Occupational Diseases
Physicians, Primary Care
Toxicology
Gases