Awareness of people using municipal swimming pools about the prevention, symptoms, and treatment of athlete’s foot and onychomycosis before COVID-19

Introduction:
Superficial mycosis is one of the most common diseases worldwide; however, its epidemiology is changing over time.

Aim:
To present the awareness of people using swimming pools about athlete’s foot and onychomycosis.

Material and methods:
A total of 690 participants were subjected to an extensive survey administered via Google Documents. The questionnaire consisted of 30 online polling items and aimed to evaluate respondents’ knowledge pertaining to fungal infections, encompassing aspects such as prevention strategies, disease trajectory, and therapeutic modalities. The survey sample specifically encompassed students and sports enthusiasts associated with 33 Internet groups, and data collection transpired during the period spanning 12 January to 15 March, 2018, predating the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results:
In the study, 85.2% of participants regularly inspected their feet, with 4.8% seeking podiatric services. While 75.2% demonstrated hygienic behaviour by changing towels after each pool visit, 41.4% acknowledged sharing nail tools. Notably, 75.7% preferred professional assistance for symptoms, with 24.3% opting for home remedies. Gender disparities were evident, with women showing significantly better hygiene practices and pool usage than men (p < 0.001). Women also exhibited a stronger tendency to disinfect grooming tools and prioritise sterility during beautician services (p < 0.001). These findings emphasise the importance of gender-specific health behaviour analysis in promoting preventive measures.

Conclusions:
The study highlights onychomycosis as a significant societal concern. Pre-COVID-19, awareness among municipal swimming pool users regarding prevention, symptoms, and treatment of athlete’s foot and onychomycosis was insufficient.