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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

gramíneas

English translation:

grasses

Added to glossary by Rachael West
Nov 30, 2013 21:34
10 yrs ago
13 viewers *
Spanish term

gramíneas

Spanish to English Medical Medical (general)
List of a patient's allergies.

Alergia a gramíneas, pelo de gato, pelo de perro, abedul, kiwi, manzana, avellanas etc.

From Spanish (Spain) to English (UK).

Thanks in advance for your help.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 grasses
4 +3 grass pollen
5 Poaceae, Gramineae, true grasses
References
See previous entry: http://www.proz.com...

Discussion

Stephen D. Moore Dec 2, 2013:
Asked a nurse -- Specifically, the nurse I married -- about usages among medical personnel. She said they would never use the Latin among themselves. Keep in mind that this is US usage.

I suggested "grains" because (besides the reason I mentioned) one never hears grasses referred to as "gramineas" in Ecuador, where I grew up. So: what is the usual usage in Spain?

One further thought: pollen is the culprit most often, but *not* exclusively. I'm allergic to junipers, and I react even when they're not pollinating. I'm not sure it's safe to assume that the source text refers to pollen.
Helena Chavarria Dec 1, 2013:
When in doubt I ask myself what someone would be likely to say in a conversation: 'I'm allergic to grass pollen', 'I'm allergic to grass' or 'I'm allergic to grasses'. Charles is right, we need a doctor's opinion!
Helena Chavarria Dec 1, 2013:
When in doubt I ask myself what someone would be likely say in a conversation: 'I'm allergic to grass pollen', 'I'm allergic to grass' or 'I'm allergic to grasses'.
Rachael West (asker) Dec 1, 2013:
Yes, Charles I am also more inclined not to use the Latin equivalent (whether or not the doctors communicate in Latin!). I guess I was just defending Helena's (good) references. I'm more concerned about use (or not) of the word pollen.
Charles Davis Dec 1, 2013:
I suppose we really need an English-speaking doctor to tell us what would be put in a medical report in English. I have done a bit of searching of the medical literature in PubMed, and although some articles on allergies refer to Gramineae, more refer to grasses. Moreover, those that refer to Gramineae all seem to be by non-native English speakers (many with Spanish or Italian names), whereas the ones by native English-speaking authors seem to refer to "grasses". I don't know that English-speaking doctors always use Latin terms for everything, even when they're speaking to each other.
Helena Chavarria Dec 1, 2013:
@Rachael I was assuming it was a medical report, which is why I suggested using the Latin names.
Rachael West (asker) Dec 1, 2013:
@neilmac I believe the translation is for a medical report, so maybe the latin names that Helena suggests will be perfectly ok - assuming it is medical staff to be analysing this... I will check.
Helena Chavarria Dec 1, 2013:
@Neil and Charles I suppose I'm too used to listening to the Spanish talking about their ailments and doctors' specialities. For example, people have appointments with the Traumatólogo and Otorrino (thank goodness they don't say 'otorrinolaringólogo), not the 'bone specialist' or 'ear, nose and throat specialist'. I suppose I had forgotten that people from the UK tend to be more practical!
Rachael West (asker) Dec 1, 2013:
Thanks for the discussion as these were precisely my doubts. However, I am (as you mostly seem to be) assuming that the source text must be making reference to grass pollen, since among this person's allergies is also "abedul" - which is actually birch, but it must be referring to birch pollen which is what people tend to be allergic to (not the trees themselves), even though the Spanish does not specify the word pollen neither in "gramíneas", nor in "abedul". So in this case, pollen alone would not be enough I assume. I do however think gramíneas is making reference to a type of grass and not grain as Stephen suggests, mainly because if it was about edible grains I think it would be clearer (since this would be quite serious), but also because of the mention of birch (similar to grasses).
neilmac Dec 1, 2013:
@Helena Not wishing to "neutral-ise" your (perfectly correct) suggestion out of respect, but I think you provide more information than needed. Also, it is usually best to avoid Latin forms when addressing a non-specialist English-speaking audience. "Allergic to grasses, cat hairs..." does the job pefectly well in this case IMHO. Nor do we need to mention "pollen", which neither figures in the original nor is necessary.
Charles Davis Dec 1, 2013:
@ Helena On pollen: as I said, the trigger is nearly always pollen, because airborne plant-derived particles are nearly always pollen, but it doesn't have to be. Here's an interesting paragraph from an academic article on the subject, "Grass Pollen, Aeroallergens, and Clinical
Symptoms in Ciudad Real, Spain" by F. Feo Brito et al.:

"Since the seventies, when Busse et al [7] described the existence of allergenic particles in ragweed pollen grains, several authors have confirmed that not only pollen grains but also other parts of plants, such as leaves and stems, can be a source of allergenic particles [8-10]. The authors suggested that grass allergens can be found in the atmosphere outside the pollen season, thus explaining why the correlation between symptoms and pollen grain counts is not as strong as expected [11,12]."
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/46146670_Grass_polle...
Helena Chavarria Dec 1, 2013:
Can anyone tell me what's wrong with the literal translation? And according to all the references I've found, it's the pollen in grass that causes allergies.
Stephen D. Moore Dec 1, 2013:
Is there any way to double-check ... Medical personnel are often concerned about allergies to foodstuffs, since people are in contact with them so much. I suspect the reference may well be to edible grains, like wheat.
Charles Davis Dec 1, 2013:
Is it just the pollen? "The protein found in certain plants that are wind-pollinated are what a person's immune system is reacting to. This protein is not only found in the pollen but also in plants parts that get airborne. This is why someone who has allergies to grass reacts when they walk on a freshly cut lawn."
http://www.aerobiology.ca/pollen/faq.php

Proposed translations

+6
29 mins
Selected

grasses

May well mean something broader than just the pollen. "Allergic to grasses" also has considerable heft, registering 281,000 Google hits to "allergic to pollen" with 122,000, further underscoring the possibility that the more literal translation may be the way to go.
Also, "grasses and pollen" occurs 25,000 times...

"Letters from Dr. J.S.F., a private allergist, dated in May and July 1992 and in February 1993, stated that the veteran is markedly allergic to grasses and pollen, ..." www.va.gov/vetapp02/files01/0204538.txt‎

"Of all allergy sufferers in the United States, 75 percent are allergic to ragweed, 50 percent are allergic to grasses, and 10 percent are allergic to trees..." www.muschealth.com/healthyaging/allergic_rhinitis.htm

"In Europe, that number goes up to 87 million. Fifty six percent are allergic to grasses in the US versus 52% in Europe. Cat allergies are 39% in ...‎" www.forbes.com/.../finnish-scientists-discover-vaccine-to-e...‎
Peer comment(s):
agree Muriel Vasconcellos
3 mins
agree lorenab23
8 hrs
agree Charles Davis : The allergen is a protein found in grasses. Although the trigger is nearly always pollen, it doesn't have to be, so I agree that it is better just to say "grasses".
13 hrs
agree neilmac : Am with Charles on this one too :-)
19 hrs
agree Yvonne Gallagher
23 hrs
agree Christine Walsh
1 day 3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks also to Helena and Katy, Helena especially for the refs, which are pretty much what Pablo is saying here, so both correct,and Pablo got there first. Thank you all."
+3
9 mins

grass pollen

Gramineae is the Latin name for the family of grass plants.
Reference:

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/french_to_english/medical_general/3147307-allergie_gramines.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae

Peer comment(s):
agree Catarina Lopes
17 mins
neutral Muriel Vasconcellos : The text doesn't say 'pollen'
23 mins
agree Helena Chavarria : I agree with you. However, wouldn't it be better to use the scientific name in this case?
59 mins
agree Edward Tully
11 hrs
neutral neilmac : No need to add "pollen" here.
20 hrs
Something went wrong...
47 mins

Poaceae, Gramineae, true grasses

The Poaceae (also called Gramineae or true grasses) are a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. With more than 10,000 domesticated and wild species, the Poaceae represent the fifth-largest plant family, following the Orchidaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Rubiaceae.[3] Though commonly called "grasses", seagrasses, rushes, and sedges fall outside this family. The rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order Poales, but the seagrasses are members of order Alismatales.
Grasslands are estimated to compose 20% of the vegetation cover of the Earth. Poaceae live in many other habitats, including wetlands, forests, and tundra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 52 mins (2013-11-30 22:26:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Poaceae, formerly called Gramineae, grass family of monocotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the order Poales. The Poaceae are the world’s single most important source of food. They rank among the top five families of flowering plants in terms of the number of species, but they are clearly the most abundant and important family of the Earth’s flora. They grow on all continents, in desert to freshwater and marine habitats, and at all but the highest elevations. Plant communities dominated by grasses account for about 24 percent of the Earth’s vegetation...

http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/465603/Poaceae

http://www.pollenlibrary.com/Family/Poaceae/

Pollen of Poaceae is among the most allergenic pollen in Europe with pollen of birch. It is therefore useful to elaborate models to help pollen allergy sufferers. The objective of this study was to construct forecast models that could predict the first day characterized by a certain level of allergic risk called here the Starting Date of the Allergic Risk (SDAR).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18237004

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2013-11-30 22:29:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Poaceae

Definition: A large family of narrow-leaved herbaceous grasses of the order Cyperales, subclass Commelinidae, class Liliopsida (monocotyledons). Food grains (CEREALS) come from members of this family. RHINITIS, ALLERGIC, SEASONAL can be induced by POLLEN of many of the grasses.

http://www.reference.md/files/D006/mD006109.html

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 mins (2013-11-30 22:33:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Grass typically refers to any of the low, green, nonwoody plants which belong to the grass family ( Poaceae or Gramineae ), sedge family ( Cyperaceae ) or rush family ( Juncaceae ). However, it is only the Poaceae/Gramineae family, which are true grasses. This family, part of the plant order Cyperales , contains between 500 and 650 genera with a total of anything up to 10,000 species.

http://www.hon.ch/Library/Theme/Allergy/Glossary/grass.html
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Reference comments

8 mins
Reference:

See previous entry:
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/sports_fitness_...


Grass pollen allergy - Health
health.kioskea.net/faq/43-grass-pollen-allergy‎
Grass pollen allergy US Allergie aux graminées FR · Alergia a las gramíneas - Síntomas ES. November 2013. Definition; Symptoms; Diagnosis; Treatment ...
Grass pollen specific sublingual/swallow immunotherapy in children ...
www.elsevier.pt/.../grass-pollen-specific-sublingual-swallo...‎
Alergia a gramíneas. ... We carried out a study to evaluate the clinical efficacy and the safety in children allergic to grass pollen, following different schedules.

Grass pollen specific sublingual/swallow immunotherapy in children ...
www.elsevier.pt/.../grass-pollen-specific-sublingual-swallo...‎
Alergia a gramíneas. .... skin prick test positive to grass pollen extract (wheal at least corresponding to ... specific IgE to grass pollen allergens, at least class 3;.

https://www.google.com.jm/search?q="gramíneas grass pollen&r...

Grass pollen allergy
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