Radium Capable of Causing Irreparable Damage
Improperly used, or when used for some condition in which radiation reaches the testicles or the ovaries, both radium and x-rays are likely to produce sterility. The effects of treat¬ments by both of these agents are cumulative; that is, single short applications may be safe, but, if repeated often enough for their slight effects to overlap, symptoms of overdosage may appear more or less suddenly. On the whole, the results obtained by radium scarcely warrant its continued use, unless it be in the few conditions mentioned above. But, when used, it should be under the supervision of a physician of wide experi¬ence in this treatment, who has seen enough of the harmful effects of wrong use and overuse to be extremely cautious. Except in eases of a highly specialized sort, a combination of the more usual physical therapies will accomplish all that radium and x-rays still attain.