Locations
Bellevue Hyperbarics, PLLC
Bellevue, WA
My office hours
Thursday: 8:30am - 4:30pm
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Practice website
Insurances accepted
Aetna Life Insurance Company
UnitedHealthcare
Regence Blue Shield of Washington
Premera Blue Cross
Great-West Healthcare
About
Bio
This native of Detroit, Michigan, following completion of medicine residency spent 3 years in the National Health Service Corps serving at a community clinic in Oakland California. After leaving the NHSC she worked for the University of Hawaii Hyperbaric Treatment Center initially in a fellowship capacity and then as Chief Medical Officer. The Hyperbaric center treated SCUBA divers with the bends for the entire state of Hawaii. An occasional patient with a diabetic foot wound that needed HBO led to an interest in wound care. This interest led to joining the University of Texas Houston faculty as an assistant professor in their comprehensive wound care and hyperbaric medicine center, and subsequently to Restorix Health as their Northwest medical director.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Wound care
Internal Medicine
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine
Doctor Q&A
140 Answers
17 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
O2 under pressure: The oxygen that you breath while under pressure in an hbo chamber is acting like a drug. There are a myriad of effects of this. The most important eff... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Too much glucose: Diabetics have a problem getting the glucose from their blood into their tissues. Their lack of Insulin or Insulin resistance causes the glucose that ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes: If the emphysema is causing wheezing, the theophylline medication used primarily in asthmatics might be helpful. Also Prednisone tablets are used if t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No but may lessen it: The degree of scarring depends mostly on the severity of the cut. The more deep and ragged the worse the scar will be.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Vein vs gut lining: Both hemorrhiods and polyps are abnomalities associated with the colon. The hemorrhoid is a vein that has swelled and cause pain & itching. The polyp ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: If you have not needed an inhaler in years, you are not likely to need one simply because of a new exercise program. Getting short of breath from bei... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: Gout is a genetic condition. A patient with gout has an abnormal accumulation of uric acid crystal in their joints. No amount of exercise will prevent... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: When end stage renal disease (esrd) is diagnosed that means the patient no longer has kidneys that are effectively filtering toxins from the blood. T... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Can't prevent it: Color blindness is a genetic disorder. That is to say, if someone is going to develop color blindness there is nothing that will prevent it because th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes but not cured: Glaucoma is abnormal elevation of the pressures in the eyes. Eye drops are used to decrease the pressure. It usually requires application of drops onc... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years agoMerged
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
There are none: Synthroid (thyroxine) is a man-made replacement for your own thryroid hormone. There are no side effects per se because the drug will bind to the same... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes, take estrogen: The hair loss that is due to menopause is due to decrease in the estrogen levels in the body. In women this decreased estrogen results in an increase ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes: Our bodies do not have a way of excreting iron. Persons requiring frequent blood transfusions can store too much iron in their bodies. Also iron suppl... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes: Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by both frequent stools and constipation, along with abdominal cramping. When diarrhea is the sole symptom o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Depends on bite : The average duration of viral incubation (the time until the virus causes symptoms) is 20-90 days. It is usually less than 50 days if the patient is b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: Diabetic retinopathy is an overgrowth of small blood vessels in the retina. These vessels interfere with the normal light perception of the eye. An o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: Bursitis is an inflammation that causes pain with movement of the affected joint. The bursa like the tendons around a joint help smooth movement of th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Tobacco usage: Head and neck cancers include cancers involving the throat, tongue, mouth, nose , and sinuses. Cigarette smoking is closely associated with throat ca... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Forever: Once the condition is causing symptoms that are severe enough for a doctor to diagnose emphysema that means that there is a lot of lung tissue that is... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
3 months: If your diabetes is not optimally controlled to maintain the hemoglobin A1c below 7 then visits could be as often as every 2 weeks for review of blood... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes: The body is fully protected from the toxins that both kidneys remove even if only 1 kidney is present. This is why it is possible for a healthy indivi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No but it helps: Hemorrhoids happen because of straining to pass hard stool. Drinking water mainly helps general hydration of the body. Fiber, however, actually increa... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Fear is felt to be a normal protective mechanism. Fear is what causes us to walk slowly to keep from stumbling when it is too dark to see. A phobia is... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No, tests glucose: The hemoglobin A1c test is specifically looking for the percentage of hemoglobin with glucose attached to it. If you are smoking marijuana it will hav... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
All with uterus need: The pap test is a screen for cancer cells on the uterine cervix. This can detect very early pre-cancerous lesions. Unless a woman has had a hysterecto... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Sometimes yes: Pressure ulcers have degrees of severity. The most severe ulcers are grade 4 and usually have exposure of bone or muscle in the ulcer. The body cannot... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes, if well cooked: Salmonella is easily killed by heat but undercooked meats can allow salmonella to remain alive. Chicken and pork particularly should always be cooked ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Use prepackaged kit: Most general medical doctors will have cards that allow you to take smear of your stool (fingertip or cotton swab) apply it to the card fold it closed... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No, remove hematoma: A subdural hematoma causes problems boy because of the injury to the brain as well as the mass that the hematoma is. If the mass is large it will caus... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Depends on severity: Anemia means you do not have the usual number of red blood cells. If you are in an airplane, where the oxygen in the cabin air is below normal, just l... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
4 times a year: While your diabetes doctor may only see you once or twice a year, your foot doctor should be doing preventive foot care-trimming toe nails, calluses a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Possible nerve prob.: Many patients describe a 'burning' sensation in legs when they have a pinched nerve. If there is constriction on the nerve that can be relieved such a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Bone stimulator: Bone growth stimulators can enhance bone healing. However sometimes the problem may not be slowness of healing but abnormal healing.When a fracture he... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Chronic skin injury: Pressure ulcer is the description of the injury to the skin when pressure is applied to the skin over a protracted period of time. Patients in coma w... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Cancer specialist: Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphnodes. Doctors who are trained in internal medicine, can go on to specialize in treatment of cancer. This is the subs... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Have the biopsy: A premalignant lesion is called that because lesions of that type have a high risk of degenerating into cancer. Once the 'premalignancy' becomes actua... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Depends on position: Pressure ulcers occur over boney prominences and they happen when there is prolonged pressure in an area. If someone has had a stroke and tends to lie... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: Myopia, which is the refractive error that causes blurry distance vision is essentially of genetic origin. Whether or not someone requires eye glasses... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes, some are: A wart is the result of a virus causing skin cells to grow abnormally. Plantar warts on the soles of the feet are usually painful. The warts commonly ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Neither: Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. Eating foods high in fat will not affect gout. Food high in uric acid, like steak, will cause gout ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes-too much oxygen: When oxygen is breathed under pressure the oxygen has a stimulatory effect on the nerve tissue. It can cause a convulsion or other symptoms of excess ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Other related issues: Pressure ulcers are indeed a direct result of unrelieved pressure to the skin. While pressure relief is important, malnutrition causing low blood pro... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Breast cancer is treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Side effects of surgery are related to removal of lymph nodes. This can cause lymp... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes: If you are worried about doing to much worrying then the conclusion would be you are worrying too much. Some worry is productive like carrying an umbr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 54-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes, take estrogen: The hair loss that is due to menopause is due to decrease in the estrogen levels in the body. In women this decreased estrogen results in an increase ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.4k viewsReviewed Apr 13, 2021
A 33-year-old male asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Take antibiotics : Cellulitis is a skin infection usually caused by streptococcus or staphylococcus bacteria. It is very unlikely to resolve without antibiotic therapy. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Numbness, discharge: The typical ulcer caused by having diabetes is that due to the development of peripheral neuropathy. Once a daibetic has lost sensation in the feet, t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes: If a boil or abscess is present a specimen of the drainage or pus can be sent to the lab and a culture of the organisms is made. If staph aureus is gr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
No: Endocarditis is an infection. If antibiotics are not used to cure the infection then the heart valve could be destroyed by the bacteria. This type of ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Latisha Smithanswered
Wound care 40 years experience
Yes for centuries: They have uncovered egyptian papyruses from 4000 b.C. That show they used honey in combination with other agents as wound treatment. In modern times m... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
4
Recommendations
669
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Nov 5, 2013
I thought it would be scary being in a hyperbaric chamber. It wasn't. The clear walls, movies, oxygen made me so relaxed I was disappointed when the treatment session was over.
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Smith is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Smith is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer or tip was very helpful! This picture answered my concerns also, looks pretty much like what is going on with me.
HealthTap member
MINE IS WORSE BOTH LEGS BURST FLUIDS REALLY PAINFUL HOT LIKE FIRE BLISTERS SWOLLEN ON SHINES GET LITTLE BETTER SLOW THANK YOU NANCY
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer or tip was very helpful! I appreciate this so much
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Hahnemann Medical College, PA
Graduated 1983MD
Awards
HealthTap Founding Doctor
HealthTap ClubMD
Affiliations
Restorix Medical Group of Washington
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