Hi

I've had the vertical labret for about 2 years. I've always been very careful with it. It healed beautifully. I had no problems until Sunday evening when my !%$# bf decided it'd be a great idea to suck in my bottom lip and chew on it (along with the piercing). Before I could stop him, the entire bottom lip hurt and was really sore esp around the barbell but there was no swelling and it seemed ok. Monday it still felt sore and painful but still no swelling. I kept it clean and soaked it in a sea salt solution. When I woke up Tuesday, it was swollen and had a tiny little bit of crustiness. I cleaned it again with multiple salt soaks and used some ice to bring down the swelling. Today is Wednesday and it's still swollen and I am still using salt soaks and ice and antibacterial soap for the lip. It doesn't seem to be doing any better.
I am very paranoid because, other than when I just got it done, I've never had it in this state.
Should I go see my piercer or just continue what I am doing? Is it normal that the swelling hasn't gone down yet? Are there complications that can easily result from this?
Any extra advice?

I definitely suggest longer jewelry. Also, how are you doing your soaks and how often? The salt to water ratio should be 1/8 teaspoon in 8 oz of warm distilled water, and you should soak for three to five minutes at a time, no more than three times a day. Overcleaning can cause prolonged irritation. Avoid the anti-bacterial soap more than once a day as it can dry out the piercing and cause more irritation. Don't move the jewelry around much either. It may be best to just clean it and leave it alone.

But I definitely suggest seeing your piercer for a longer bar to accomodate for your swelling.

It could take up to a week or two for the swelling to go away.  Baby it with some sea salt soaks 2-3 times per day, and leave it alone otherwise.  I would not recommend antibacterial soap at all, it is likely causing irritation and prolonging your swelling and tenderness.

I don't know what you mean by "after certain meals", but you should only really use it in the shower. After meals, you should be cleaning it with sea salt. I don't think there is anything wrong with minor use of anti-bacterial or anti-microbial soap, and irritation is generally caused from overuse, not just use. More than once a day to once every other day can dry out your piercing.

yet another update:
After seeing a doc I got told it is infected and they tried to take it off. Didn't work, so I have to get it taken off by the piercer tomorrow. I got antibiotics and lots of pain.

This sucks.