[ I put this up in the pro board as well, hoping to see if I get any different answers here. ]

So, two weeks ago I was on vacation in Vegas. A friend of mine wanted to get her lower lip done, but she didn't want to go alone so I went along with her and got a monroe [or madonna, if you'd rather] on the right side. The shop was clean, fresh needles, gloves changed between the two of us, knowledgeable piercer, the jewelry was brand new and sealed as well and he was even picky about the placement.

The past two weeks have gone by pretty easily, a bit red but I'm also super pale and anything on me gets irritated easily. I've been doing sea salt soaks 1-2 times a day and keeping it as clean as possible with qtips and using a non-alcohol mouthwash after eating and drinking. On Friday, my lip was a little numb. Nothing major, I asked a friend of mine who has the same piercing and she said it happened to her too so I didn't think much of it. Come yesterday morning I noticed I couldn't move that whole side of my face much at all. Then this morning I can barely blink my right eye and I have essentially no muscle control at all.

At first I just assumed it was the swelling impacting on the nerves or something, so I took some ibuprofen and continued as normal. No change. It's not even really swollen anymore, still a little red, but all in all it looks better than it has since I got it done.

Is this normal? Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? Any suggestions? Should I take it out? I'm honestly at a loss and I'm about to go crazy.

I immediately think of this, just from the way you seem to have lost control of muscles.

Again, extreme reactions should probably get immediate medical attention..

http://wiki.bme.com/index.php?title=Bell's_Palsy

Edited by evalution - July/28/2013 at 11:49pm

See medical advice. There is obviously something wrong. Some numbness around a piercing is not that uncommon, the whole side on one's face is a very extreme reaction.