2. Radium Therapy
Radium was considered, in the early 20th century, to be a borderline mythical panacea. The novelty of a glow in the dark substance led many to believe it was almost magical, and it quickly made its way into many health and beauty products and was marketed as a cure-all. While various charlatans and snake oil salespeople attempted to profit off of radium, the medical community believed that there were legitimate curative uses for the newfound radium.
It was believed, at the turn of the century, to be bactericidal, meaning that it would kill bacteria. It also was thought to be superior to the newly discovered X-Rays in the treatment of small areas of the body. The bactericidal nature, as well as its targeted use, led to radium being used to treat tuberculosis. It was also sometimes applied to the skin to treat disorders such as lupus and rodent ulcer. In Germany, experimentation was done with inhaling radium as a treatment for various illnesses. Radium in bath water was also used to treat gout and arthritis.
Once the incredible dangers of radium were finally realized, and more important, acknowledged, radium quickly fell out of favor for medical uses. Today, it persists only in a few particular cases, such as the treatment of cancers that absorb iodine.