taking care of incisions

I had surgery for a broken ankle on april 21. I just had my cast removed last thursday. what should i do to take care of my incisions as well as my skin. the incisions look scabby but the scabs are still pretty attached to my skin. what i did do yesterday was soak my leg in a bucket of water for a few minutes, that loosened alot of the dead skin off my leg, except for under my foot and my incisions. i just rinsed it off and applied lotion to my leg excluding my incisions. i was told not to put any lotion or anything for that matter on my incisions.
today i read on another website that i shouldn't have soaked my leg, and to avoid hot water is this true? if so why? what can i use to help keep my leg hydrated and aid the dead skin in falling off. i just couldn't stand it yesterday any longer, it was painful feeling the dead skin cracking. any help and advice would be appreciated :)