Because no money is exchanged and laws are rarely broken, there is little legal recourse to take upon discovery of someone faking illness.Such dramatic situations can polarize online communities. Members may feel ashamed for believing elaborate lies, while others remain staunch supporters. Feldman admits that an element of sadism may be evident in some of the more egregious abuses of trust.Other perpetrators react by issuing general accusations of dishonesty to everyone, following the exposure of such fabrications. The support groups themselves often bar discussion about the fraudulent perpetrator, in order to avoid further argument and negativity. Many forums do not recover, often splintering or shutting down.In 2004, members of the blog hosting service LiveJournal established a forum dedicated to investigating cases of members of online communities dying—sometimes while online. In 2007 The LiveJournal forum reported that, of the deaths reported to them, about 10% were real. See also
Hypochondriasis
Psychosomatic illness
Sickened, an autobiography by Julie Gregory

References
Bibliography
Feldman, Marc (2004). Playing sick? : untangling the web of Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen by proxy, malingering & factitious disorder. Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-94934-7. Fisher JA (2006). "Playing patient, playing doctor: Munchausen syndrome, clinical S/M, and ruptures of medical power". The Journal of Medical Humanities. 27 (3): 135–49. doi:10.1007/s10912-006-9014-9. PMID 16817003. S2CID 40739963. Fisher JA (2006). "Investigating the Barons: narrative and nomenclature in Munchausen syndrome". Perspect. Biol. Med. 49 (2): 250–62. doi:10.1353/pbm.2006.0024. PMID 16702708. S2CID 12418075. Friedel, Robert O., MD (4 August 2004). Borderline Personality Disorder Demystified. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-1-56924-456-2.
Mafenide (INN; usually as mafenide acetate, trade name Sulfamylon) is a sulfonamide-type medication used as an antibiotic. It was approved by the FDA in 1948. Uses
Mafenide is used to treat severe burns. It is used topically as an adjunctive therapy for second- and third-degree burns. It is bacteriostatic against many gram-positive and gram-negative organisms, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Some sources state that mafenide is more appropriate for non-facial burns, while chloramphenicol/prednisolone or bacitracin are more appropriate for facial burns. Mechanism of action
Mafenide works by reducing the bacterial population present in the avascular tissues of burns and permits spontaneous healing of deep partial-thickness burns. Adverse reactions
Adverse reactions can include superinfection, pain or burning upon application, rash, pruritus, tachypnea, or hyperventilation. Mafenide is metabolized to a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, which could potentially result in metabolic acidosis. Drug interactions
There are no significant interactions. Contraindications
Mafenide is contraindicated in those with sulfonamide hypersensitivity or renal impairment. Dosage
For use as adjunctive therapy for second- and third-degree burns to prevent infection, adults and children should apply topically to a thickness of approximately 1.6 mm to cleaned and debrided wound once or twice per day with a sterile gloved hand. The burned area should be covered with cream at all times. References
External links
Mafenide information on RxList