Dr. Charles Kelly Smoak MD

Encephalitis in ChildrenEncephalitis means inflammation of the brain. The condition is usually caused by viruses. Encephalitis is a rare disease that affects approximately 0.5 per 100,000 individuals. Children, the elderly, and those with an impaired immune system are commonly affected by the...

Dyslexia refers to a disorder characterized by disability in reading. This is a very common learning disability and is found to affect a large percentage of people in the country. Children with this learning disorder are found to have normal vision and intelligence. In many cases, the condition...

Croup is a common respiratory problem prevailing in young children that tends to develop in the fall or winter. It describes a deep and barking cough that is caused by an upper respiratory infection that blocks a child's ability to breathe. Its characteristic symptom is harsh coughing...

What is suramin?Suramin is a drug that was developed about 100 years ago to treat parasite-borne illnesses such as African sleeping sickness and river blindness. The drug has been around since then, and is actually relatively cheap to manufacture and distribute. A single one-month dose to treat one...

The Tdap vaccine protects the body from three diseases: tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough....

What is RSV?RSV or respiratory syncytial virus is a common virus that usually affects the respiratory tract. It can cause colds in adults and older children, but may cause serious lung infections, such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis in babies and immunocompromised individuals. CausesRSV is only...