Quotation from: Manual of Surgery

Written by: Alexander Miles and Alexis Thomson

On the assumption that the condition is the result of an
auto-intoxication from the intestinal tract, saline purges and
irrigation of the colon are indicated, and Arbuthnot Lane claims to have
brought about improvement by short-circuiting or by resecting the colon.

Residence in a warm and dry climate, with an open-air life, has been
known to arrest the disease when other measures have failed to give
relief.