I carry a cut and blister kit separately, in an easy access pocket. Alcohol swabs, hand sanitizer wipes, med tape, small amount of duct tape, various blister treatments, moleskin, a few small and medium bandaids, and anti-biotic cream. I use this kit fairly often for myself, co-hikers or unprepared strangers.
Then I pack a second kit deeper in the pack that I rarely touch. Large bandages, lots of gauze, butterfly bandages, safety pins, pain meds, etc for a more serious injury. Knock on wood, I've never used much from this kit.
This reminds me, I need to go through this stuff and replace the expired items.
For desert hiking, you may want to include sunburn lotion, salt tabs and electrolytes.
A couple doctors post regularly, and probably some other medical people who should put in their $0.02. I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV.
