comedocomedo

The story

Applied to blackheads on account of the popular belief that they were parasitic worms that consumed the host’s nutrients, especially in children, thereby causing weight loss and illness. In Johann Heinrich Zedler's universal lexicon, comedo is one of four Latin translations for the entry Mitesser, Zehrwürmer and Dürrmaden, literally "along-eaters", "draining worms" "dry-maggots", which are described as "aschenfarbige oder schwärzlichte Würmlein … sie pflegen in der Haut der jungen Kinder nicht anders als kleine schwarze Härlein zu stecken: und sind eine ordentliche Ursache der Schwindung und Abnehmen der Kinder; Die Kinder schreyen und weinen unter steten Wachen, und denn sagen die Weiber, das Kind sey entweder beschrien, oder habe die Mitesser. Diese Würme kann man aus der Haut locken …", translated: "ash-colored or blackish little worms which are found in the skin of young children with the appearance of tiny black hairs. They are a major cause of children's weight loss; the children cry and scream constantly and won't fall asleep.