Wheat and gluten are functionally the same for the purposes of evaluating people with hives. Gluten is a component of wheat. Gluten is singled out at times because it is the part of wheat that is problematic for people with celiac disease. These people develop bowel inflammation whenever they eat wheat or other grains containing gluten (e.g., rye or barley). Celiac disease, however, is not known to be related to chronic hives.
As I'm sure you are aware, a food allergy does not seem to be a contributing factor for the vast majority of people who suffer from chronic hives. Furthermore, allergy skin tests are very accurate at determining when an allergy is NOT present. A negative skin test is over 97 percent accurate.
Last Updated: 9/10/2007