5000 Years of Seawater Therapy

Thalassotherapy, the systematic use of seawater for therapeutic purposes, is available for medicinal modality, and history, science, and economics bolster this fact, according to a new report published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Coastal Research.

Thalassotherapy has been practiced in some form or another for millennia, especially in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. In modern times, however, countries worldwide, including the United States, use this form of treatment has an “alternative” or “complementary” therapy rather than as a mainstream mode of treatment for specific ailments. Furthermore, many treatments that are not thalassotherapy, indeed, some that don’t even involve water, are inaccurately lumped together as a similar modality. The authors of this report go into extensive detail about where thalassotherapy has been and where it’s headed in an attempt to place it squarely within the purview of mainstream medicine.

From use of seawater as therapy in Egypt and Italy in 3000 B.C., to modern trends such as exporting mud from the Dead Sea to thalassotherapy centers at Plombières-les-Bains, France, thalassotherapy has undergone many changes over its 5000-year history. It remains however, at its core, the basic use of seawater as a method to treat or cure certain ailments. A growing body of literature demonstrates the efficacy of thalassotherapy and related treatments, such as bathing in seawater or using algae-based tinctures. In addition, it is both affordable and available, and could provide thousands of jobs.

The authors also discuss the numerous centers for thalassotherapy and related treatments.

The Journal of Coastal Research is the official publication of The Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. (CERF) and encompasses all subjects relevant to natural and engineered coastal environments (freshwater, brackish, or marine) and the protection management of their resources in the vicinity of coastlines around the world. Paleoenvironments and ancient shorelines are considered to fall within the purview of the JCR, as well. For more information, please visit http://www.cerf-jcr.org.

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Robin Barker
Allen Press, Inc.
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