1/21/2024 0 Comments Cure for radium poisoningI have taken as much or more radium water of the same kind Mr. I never had a death among my patients from radium treatment. I never had more than a dozen patients on radium water at any one time. Moyar said: "The statement of a New York physiotherapist to the effect 100 patients of a Pittsburg physiotherapist were suffering from radium poisoning was an absolute lie. ![]() ![]() Moyar said Byers died from a combination of blood diseases which had induced gout. Moyar, Pittsburg physician who prescribed "radithor" for Eben Byers, who died Thursday in New York City, denied today that "more than 100 patients" are suffering from radium poisoning. Among these were some members of the medical profession. Even then, many people kept their faith in the healing power of radium. All the remaining bone tissue of his body was slowly disintegrating, and holes were actually forming in his skull.” “A more gruesome experience in a more gorgeous setting would be hard to imagine.”īyers’ death in 1932 received significant coverage in the national press-a clear alert as to the potential harmful effects of "mild" radium therapy. Quoting Winn’s report: “his whole upper jaw, excepting two front teeth, and most of his lower jaw had been removed. While preparing their case against Bailey, the Federal Trade Commission sent Robert Winn to interview Byers at his oceanfront mansion in Southampton, Long Island. He stopped consuming Radithor in 1930 when his teeth started falling out. Thanks to Radithor, Foxy Grandpa had staged a “comeback.”Īlas, the comeback was all too brief. While a young man at Yale, he had been known as “Foxy Grandpa” for his suave ways and success with the ladies (Macklis 1993). And, of course, he made sure that his girlfriends had plenty on hand. He gave cases of it to his business colleagues. Feeling invigorated and toned up, at least in the beginning, he extolled Radithor from the rooftops. And we don’t mean at golf.īeginning in December of 1927, Byers averaged three bottles a day over the following two years. It is reasonable to suspect that his performance wasn’t what it used to be. Always known as a ‘man about town,” he was now approaching fifty, well into middle age. Moyar he began drinking Radithor to assist the healing process.Īt this point, it might be worth acknowledging a persistent rumor concerning Byers’ reason for drinking Radithor. At the recommendation of a the Pittsburgh physician C.C. In 1927 he injured his arm on a party train following a Harvard-Yale football game. ![]() Byers Company in Pittsburg, one of the world's largest steel companies. But at that point in his life that is of interest to us, he was president of the A.M. In his youth Eben Byers had been the U.S. The references I have for them date from 19. Their address was 802 Spring Arcade Building on Spring/S. The Radithor Laboratories Company in Los Angeles seems to have been a separate corporate entity that was licensed to sell Radithor. On DecemBailey was ordered to "cease and desist from various representations theretofore made by them as to the therapeutic value of Radithor and from representing that the product Radithor is harmless." Bailey refrained from contesting the charges following the personal testimony of Eben Byers (delivered shortly before his death). My home town.Ī Federal Trade Commission order filed against Bailey Radium Laboratories (Inc.) was probably the final nail in the coffin for Radithor. One of their booklets indicated that they also had they had an office at 27 Front Street East in Toronto. They seem to have operated from 1925 until 1930 or early 1931 (they were listed in the Orange City Directory from 1926 to 1929). Price: $1 a bottle Bailey Radium Laboratoriesīailey Radium Laboratories, the corporation through which William Bailey produced and distributed Radithor, was located at 336 Main Street in East Orange, New Jersey. 2 uR/hr above background at one foot, ca. Radithor is one of the few radioactive quack cures that can be unambiguously linked to someone's death.ĭonated by Roger Macklis and David Allard.Įxposure rates: ca. ![]() However, another of Bailey's guarantees, that "Radithor is harmless in every respect," proved false. Bailey, offered $1,000 to anyone who could prove the product contained less than the stated amount. The manufacturer of the product, William J. Prior to being emptied, the bottle pictured at left contained one-half ounce of Radithor-triple distilled water guaranteed to contain at least 1 microcurie each of Ra-226 and Ra-228.
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