The tragic story of Eben Byers, who was treated with radium

Today, if we have health problems, we go to the pharmacy and buy medicines. It cannot be said that all of them bring us exclusively benefit, but they can be used without much risk. But just some hundred years ago, doctors prescribed drugs to patients that could not only cripple them, but also kill them. An example is the story of the unfortunate Eben Byers from the USA, who was treated with radium.

At the beginning of the 20th century, people were convinced that the chemical element radium had miraculous healing properties. At that time, very little was known about radioactivity, but they believed in new “magic” drugs with childish naivety. And how it was not to believe, if the luminaries of medicine of those years spoke about the healing radium.

An authoritative therapist, Dr. W. Engelman, wrote about radium in 1913:

He was echoed by his colleague, Dr. C. G. Davis:

The belief that radiation is useful appeared after the publication in 1903 of the scientific work of the physicist D. Thompson. The scientist who discovered the electron described in one of his articles the study of wells, the water in which was considered healing for centuries. Thompson found that the water in them was radioactive due to radon. It is an inert radioactive gas common in nature.

After that, the scientific world decided that radiation is a panacea for all diseases. One of the wise men generally stated that it fills the human body with life-giving energy, promotes cellular activity and speeds up metabolism. But using radon as a medicine failed. It quickly disintegrated in the open air, and to get the effect it was necessary to drink water directly from the source.

But there was no problem that cunning Americans could not solve. In 1912, enterprising businessmen began to sell a device called the Revigator. It was a vessel with radium, into which water was poured. Under the influence of a radioactive element, it was charged and could be used to treat various ailments. In advertising, the device was called "home source of eternal health." One of the victims of this diabolical invention was poor Eben Byers.

Eben Byers was born into a wealthy aristocratic family on April 12, 1880. He grew up as a darling of fate - he had everything he could wish for. Byers graduated from the prestigious Yale University, was fond of equestrian sports and played professional golf. Over time, he joined the family business and became a member of the board of directors of his father's company, the Girard Iron Company.

It seemed that Eben was waiting for a long and filled with pleasure life. But everything changed in 1927. Returning from a football game, Byers fell off his bunk on the train and broke his arm. The fracture healed, but the man began to be haunted by severe pain in his elbow. One of the doctors in the spirit of that time advised the patient to be treated with water charged with radium, which was sold in pharmacies under the name "Raditor".

The drug was created by half-educated scientist William D. A. Bailey, who was once expelled from Harvard. It was distilled water infused with an isotope of radium. Bailey assured that "Raditor" helps with dozens of diseases, including impotence and epilepsy. His reputation was unimportant, but there was a business acumen. Physicians who prescribed the drug to patients received a 17 percent commission from the author for each vial.

Eben Byers tried the drug, which, by the way, was not cheap. Oddly enough, but he felt relieved and began to drink "Raditor" in huge doses. Before the man felt something was wrong, he consumed 1400 bottles! When Byers realized in 1930 that the drug was destroying his system, it was too late. Years later, scientists calculated that he had taken three lethal doses of radium.

His bones were affected by cancer and the jaws were especially affected. Byers contracted a fatal disease known as "radium jaw". His bones literally rotted and the surgeons had to remove the poor man's lower part of the skull. But that didn't save Eben. Soon his brain was struck by an abscess, and two holes formed in the skull. Byers died a painful death on March 31, 1932. He was 51 years old.

The horror story of Eben Byers has shaken American society. One after another, articles about the unfortunate man began to appear in the newspapers. One of the headlines read: "Radium Water Worked Great Until His Jaw Dropped." Around the same time, the "radium girls" scandal erupted. All this led to the fact that preparations with radium were banned, and the element itself was recognized as deadly.

Bailey's firm was closed, but the crook was not at a loss. He immediately began producing radioactive paperweights, trouser belts with radioactive isotopes and other nonsense. And the unfortunate victim of his "medicine" found peace in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh. Byers was buried in the family vault, but with special precautions. The body was placed in a lead coffin, capable of reducing radioactive radiation.

In 1965, Eben's remains were exhumed for study. At the same time, it turned out that the body, even after more than 30 years, is so radioactive that it is dangerous. Oddly enough, but after the Byers incident and the scandal, products with radium continued to be sold. Back in the early 1980s, you could buy a cigarette holder with a radioactive filter in the US. The manufacturer assured that radium would not only protect against harmful substances, but also make the smoke softer and more pleasant.