what happens when you take laxatives?

sorry if the subject is gross.. yikes. i'm very regular so i can count on the fingers of one hand the times i ever resorted to laxatives but i recently read that the substances that are in them are very irritant and your gut wants to get rid of them cause they are harmful? i used to think they make your guts move quicker or something...? so how does it work? sorry once again for the disgusting question.

Here is a link:

http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html /medicine/laxatives.html 

Next time you have a weird or "gross" question, just try searching Google for it =) 

ok thanks!