Is alcohol necessary when making your own??

has anyone made their own homeopathic remedies? i am going to do some experimenting. the problem is that many suggest you add some alcohol once you get to 5x. well, i really dont like alcohol, and find i have a reaction to even a small amount. is it absolutely necessary to add the alcohol? will it stay fresh and affective without the alocohol? is there another preservative that could be used? like say citric acid ? Tweet