The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Comedones

COMEDONES, kŏm'ẹ-dōnz, a name applied to the little cylinders of sebaceous and epithelial substances which are apt to accumulate in the follicles of the skin and to appear on the surface as small round black spots. When squeezed out they have the appearance of minute maggots or grubs with black heads, and thence have derived their name. They are generally associated with a weak state of the skin as well as of the individual. Generous diet and tonic treatment with soap-and-water cleansing and friction will be useful; as an astringent to invigorate a debilitated skin, a lotion of corrosive sublimate (two grains) in emulsion of bitter almonds (one ounce) and dilute alcohol will be effective. See.