The Scary Story Of Eben Byers, Who Drank Radium Until His Jaw Fell Off

Radiation can impair the functioning of tissues and organs. (Representational Pic)

Exposure to a radioactive material is one of the most dangerous things. At very high doses, radiation can impair the functioning of tissues and organs, as evidenced by skin burns, loss of hair, and increased incidence of cancer. But in the early 20th century, consuming radioactive materials or smearing them on your skin was all the rage in the name of “health fad”. The bizarre trend took the life of Eben Byers, a wealthy businessman and amateur golfer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His scary story is one of the most studied among scientists and has gone viral again.

What happened with Mr Byers was widely covered by mainstream media in the United States. He was born on October 12, 1830, to a prosperous family.

After graduating, Mr Byers went to Yale University and worked for his father’s steel mill where he became vice president, as per Medium.

Mr Byers was also a skilled athlete who played golf and polo. In 1927, he fell off abed on a train and injured his arm, which reportedly hampered his participation in athletic events.

His doctor prescribed him a drink called Radithor (Radium diluted in water) telling him it would help with the pain. Mr Byers quickly hooked on to the drink and started drinking several bottles a day, said Medium. He also started giving Radithor as gift to his friends.

Radium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. It glows an eerie blue-green in the dark, giving off light for years without any apparent power source.

Ms Curie spoke out against such treatments, warning that the effects of radiation on the human body were not well understood.

But people like Mr Byers did not listen to these warnings. According to ABC News, each bottle of Radithor contained one microgram of radium and one microgram of esothorium mixed with triple distilled water. His physiotherapist recommended to drink it after every meal.

Due to the effects of Radium, Mr Byers lost weight, had headaches and began to suffer bone necrosis in his jaw, losing several teeth. He dropped weight and suffered severe headaches, said the ABC News report.

An investigation was launched for false and misleading advertising but Mr Byers’ doctor ruled out any role of Radithor in his death.

The Wall Street Journal commemorated Mr Byers’ death with this headline ‘The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off’. The shocking story became one of the most read in decades and published in several research outlets.