Cristiano Ronaldo: painting toenails to avoid ringworm does it work?

Recently, the football player Cristiano Ronaldo published a photo on her Instagram profile in which she appears with her toenails painted black. However, the motivation behind enamelling goes far beyond aesthetics. In fact, according to the German newspaper Bild, the Al-Nassr striker adopts the technique with the aim of prevent the proliferation of fungi that cause ringworma recurrent condition among soccer players.

A Dr. Paola Pomerantzeffa member of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, explains that the incidence of fungus and bacteria in the nails of soccer players is higher due to the frequent trauma caused by cleats during running and the constant humidity on the feet due to sweat.

IT WORKS?

Using nail polish is not an effective strategy to combat the problem.. “Nail polish does not protect against ringworm. If you avoided it, all the women who polish their nails frequently would not suffer from the problem”, warns the Dr. Cintia Guedesdermatologist and member of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology (SBD).

For those who already suffer from mycosis, colored nail polish can even be used on top of nail polish with antifungals or antibiotics, in order to “disguise” the change in nail color generated by fungi or to avoid photosensitivity of some of these therapeutic nail polishes, but never as a form of prevention.

“Colored nail polish can actually hinder or delay the diagnosis of nail changes. Therefore, those who use this type of product should remove it regularly to observe the nail and check for any possible alteration”, says the specialist.

WHAT TO DO TO AVOID MYCOSIS?

The measures that can really deliver results when it comes to preventing the proliferation of fungus and bacteria in the nails are:

Wear ventilated shoes; Change socks whenever they get wet; Regularly clean cleats and other shoes with alcohol inside and leave them to dry in a ventilated and sunny environment; Wash your feet with soap and water during the shower and dry them properly, paying special attention to the area between your toes; Whenever possible, leave your feet airy; Keep nails short to minimize any possible trauma to the site.

HOW TO TREAT?

If you have ringworm, the best thing to do is to see a dermatologist to carry out an evaluation and determine the appropriate treatment. As told by Dr. Cintia Guedes, the therapeutic approach depends on the fungus causing the problem. “It can be discovered through a scraping examination of diseased nails, called direct mycological examination”.

After diagnosis, topical medications may be prescribed, usually in the form of nail polish, or oral medications and specific lasers.