Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who recovered recently from a bout of chickenpox, has this advice for adult Singaporeans: Check if you have had the disease. If not, get an injection against it.

His reason: there are risks of complications, including pneumonia, throat and brain inflammation.

Also, there is a risk of going blind, which could have happened to his right eye but for the good care of the doctors and nurses, said Mr Goh on Sunday when he recounted his experience with the disease.

'My right eye was quite puffy while I was in hospital, and it was inflamed.

'So I asked what could have happened, they said the cornea could be affected, the retina could get affected, in extreme cases you could go blind,' he said.

'These are the complications - I had no complications, fortunately. I was well taken care of by the doctors and the nurses,' he added.

Mr Goh was speaking to reporters after walking two kilometres of a sports event at East Coast Park.

It was the first of two community events he attended on Sunday morning.

'I still have the battle scars from chickenpox,' he said, referring to the red spots chickenpox victims bear on their face and body.

'It may take two to three weeks more before they disappear, I hope totally,' he quipped.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

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